Pokémon: Master Journey
by Blandusername
Summary: Ash and his mother Delia moved to Pallet right before Ash began his Pokémon Journey. Beginning his journey with a trusty Squirtle, Ash sets out to conquer the Pokémon league and defeat the Champion Lance. Will the roaming threat of Team Rocket, Wild Legendaries and Rivals stop him from achieving his dream? AU. Smart!Ash. Serious!Ash. Realistic World. Mixture of Game and Anime.
1. Start of a Journey

_World of Pokémon #1_

 _Over eight hundred years ago the world was a lot more dangerous. Pokémon and People didn't live in harmony. A wild Pidgeot could kill dozens before it was put down and humans would avoid the areas with stronger Pokémon at all costs, no one wanted to meet a Charizard by accident._

 _It wasn't until scientists invented a way to capture a Pokémon in capsules that change began. The first capsule or as they are known now, Pokéballs, were the size of car trunks and didn't always work or worse killed the Pokémon. Ten years after that humans began searching for ways to communicate with Pokémon, to learn about them and capture more of them. It was then that Humans began to live along side Pokémon. Centuries have passed since then and the world has gone through many changes._

 _No longer are guns truly necessary, when a man or women could command Pokémon who could destroy buildings with a well placed Hyper Beam and take bullets without so much as a flinch they became obsolete. Pokémon became comrades and friends and now children dream of the first Pokémon Partners. While there are those who commanded Pokémon to do evil things, they were far more who used them for good._

 _The International Pokémon League alongside the Pokémon Rangers worked together to keep order in the world._

* * *

The moving truck let out another honk before losing itself in the distance. The large vehicle just finished dropping off the last of their belongings in their new Pallet town home. A large two story house that was neither new nor old. The previous owners decided to move to Kalos after winning a raffle, the prize being two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That said, the new family got a good price for their new home as the previous family wasn't very worried about money.

Silph Co. was quiet generous with their billions, the positive public feedback probably wasn't the true motives behind their philanthropy. _Probably._

"Well Ash, would you like to go check out your room? We have a little while before the professor comes over to speak with us." Delia asked her son. His fifteenth birthday was a few weeks ago and he was ready to begin his journey like another boy his age.

Delia was a slender women with light brow hair and warm honey eyes. She wore tan shorts and a blue blouse. She gave off a kind aura and smiled towards her teen son.

Ash nodded happily. "Sure thing mom! I'll be upstairs."

Ash ran excitedly upstairs and opened the door to his room, not the largest or nicest in the world but it was enough. A small bed, a dresser and several boxes with his belongings still needing to be unpacked. He wasn't thrilled with their sudden move but he understood. His mother was given a nice position at the Oak lab and would have been insane to refuse, but he still missed his friends.

On the plus side he would get his starter from the legendary Samuel Oak. A former champion, Pokémon Master candidate and renown Regional Professor, few in the world could boast such a record. Ash would be lying if he said he didn't look up to the old man. While small, the man's team was legendary. His Dragonite was unrivaled in the skies, his Charizard's flame made other fire-type's wince. He even turned a common and unused Pokémon like Ratacate into a force to be reckoned with during his early days as a trainer against the Kanto circuit.

' _While I have a few Pokémon in mind that I want to catch, I wouldn't be opposed to catching some common ones if one catches my eye. I can't go straight to a Dragonite after all I got to work up to it._ ' Mused Ash. He had his ideal Pokémon from his schooling and tedious research that he thought would fill out his team nicely.

Last year while he and his mom were living in Celedon City, he was near the bottom in the class in everything except for battling. His mom being a brilliant researcher was less than pleased, she was very studious and wouldn't allow her son to slack off in school. Under the threat of postponing his journey he was required to accompany her to the research lab once a week to learn and so she could keep an eye on him so that he didn't slack off in doing his homework. His grades quickly turned around, from number seventeen in the class he quickly rose to number three. Not the top but he never lost a battle and that was the most important subject to him.

Ash mindlessly put away his clothes and packed his new travel backpack to the brim with everything he'd possibly need. His mother spent a lot of money on the storage capsules. They worked in a similar way to Pokéballs in that they could dematerialize objects and keep them in a sort of stasis. It was what allowed people to travel the country without having to restock every few days or worry about running out of clothes. Not to mention all the camping supplies and gear that you would need a truck to carry otherwise.

"Ash! Come down and meet Professor Oak!" Called his mother from down stairs. He could hear the excitement in her voice from their visiter.

Smiling to himself he threw on his backpack put the rest of his stuff into his pocket and ran downstairs.

The man next to his mother was of average height and had noticeable features showing that he was in his elder years but not so far that he didn't retain his brown hair. He wore a white lab coat over his dress shirt and slacks, his face had a kind smile and eye alit with amusement.

Ash froze in place at the sight of the living legend and found that speaking was impossible. His face became red when he heard him mother whisper about how much of a fan he was of the man promoting a large smile out of the renown researcher.

"Well Ash my boy, it's a pleasure to meet you." Started Oak with his smile still on his face. "It seems that you're already ready to go so I won't waste much time. Your test scores for the Pokémon Trainer exam showed you're more than ready to face the challenges of a trainer. If you'll follow me we can get your starter Pokémon from my lab."

"Alright!" Shouted Ash before his eyes widened and he clamped a hand over his mouth. What a childish thing to do in front of the professor, hopefully the Professor would ignore his excitement since this was the first day of being a trainer.

His mother shook her head amused while the professor led them out towards his lab with a pleased expression on his face. He was happy to see a young man that applied himself and was overjoyed with beginning his journey, it reminded him of himself after all. The same could be said about his grandson Gary. Who was going to be starting his journey later on today.

Oak briefly wondered which Pokémon Ash would pick, he knew that Gary was favoring Squirtle. Oak had plenty of Pokémon to chose from but the three main ones were favored by beginners who had the chance to pick them.

Bulbasaur were rare but could be found in forests, Squirtle were more rare and found sometimes in tropical islands by themselves but Charmander was by far the rarest of the three and easily the hardest to raise. They resided in mountains with other dragons similar to themselves and were very hard to tame when wild.

Arriving at the Oak Lab, Ash looked around in awe at all the high tech equipment not having a clue at what any did. Several other men and women were hustling around the lab all looking around in a hurry or sitting at their desks trying to ignore all of the commotion. Many of the lab workers would nod toward his mother in greeting while others would gaze at the professor in awe.

Good. He wasn't the only one.

The group arrived to a pillar with three Pokéballs sitting in a tight group. "Here we are Ash, these are the three Kanto starters. Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. I have other choices if you'd like but they're out on the corral." Said Oak while gesturing to the three Pokéballs.

Ash closed his eyes in thought, this was a pretty big choice. Of the three- Bulbasaur was the easiest to raise, they grew naturally and eventually became status inducing tanks when raised and evolved into Venusaur. Charmander was the hardest to tame, they were pseudo dragons and anything that was kind of dragon-like took careful care else you could be ignored and out of luck. That wasn't to say they weren't worth the trouble, Charizard were one of the few Pokémon that weren't dragon types that could contend with the likes of Dragonite and Salamance. But, Squirtle was his choice- strong, durable and reliable. Powerful offense and its shell was an absolute defense that took something special to break through. A Blastoise was capable of shattering concrete with a single blast of water.

"I've made my choice, I'll pick Squirtle!" Declared Ash with a grin as he picked up the Pokéball with said water type.

Oak nodded and went over to his computer to withdraw another Water type to replace it and grabbed the other supplies.

"Here you are Ash," Started Oak while handing the boy several items. "Five standard Pokéballs and a Pokédex, I would highly recommend using that devise as often as possible as it can give you a wealth of knowledge quite easily. Not to mention it will help my research if you can document as many Pokémon as you come across. Also it serves as your trainer I.D., so don't lose it." He finished sternly making Ash nod seriously.

After Ash took in all that information he looked around the room for a sign that he was able to leave. Not that staying in the presence of the illustrious Samuel Oak was awesome, he just wanted to get on the road.

"With that said I wish you luck on your journey. While a new resident, be sure to represent your Pallet Town Pride!" Cheered Oak as Ash exited the building.

' _This is it, I've got a Pokémon, Pokéballs and my license. I'm that much closer to being a champion. Look out Lance. Here I come!_ '

* * *

 _Squirtle. This Tiny Turtle Pokémon draws its long neck into its shell to launch incredible water attacks with amazing range and accuracy. The blasts can be quite powerful. This Squirtle is Male._

 _Known moves: Tackle, Tail Whip and Aqua Jet. Ability: Water Absorb_

That was certainly helpful. It would seem that Squirtle had an egg move and a very useful ability that would make battling other Pokémon with Water attacks pretty easy.

"Ok Squirtle first things first. We need to get in some practice so I can get a feel for your speed and skills. Lets start with a tackle…aim for that small tree." Ordered Ash while pointing towards a small dying tree.

Squirtle shouted an affirmative and lowered his head and began running at his top speed towards his target. The turtle Pokémon impacted against the tree causing it to crack and break apart.

"Squirtle Squirt!" Shouted the tiny turtle Pokémon looking back to his trainer.

Ash walked over and rubbed his starter on the head. "That was excellent, we'll work on your speed but that power was awesome!" Praised Ash.

While trainer and Pokémon walked side by side through the forest on the path Ash got a thoughtful look on his face. "Would you want a name?" He asked.

Squirtle looked down in thought for a second before nodding up to his trainer. Ash smiled and started thinking about potential names for a squirtle.

"How about Hydro?" Asked Ash, the name had something to do with water and could be remembered easily. A perfect name for a powerful water type.

"Squirtle!" And that sealed it.

"Okay Hydro we've got some traveling to do until Viridian but it shouldn't take too long if we hustle." His only Pokémon saluted and followed faithfully after his trainer.

Ash and Hydro mindlessly walked through the route while the young boy started brainstorming about how to tackle the eight gyms and what Pokémon he wanted.

' _I'll need to have a strong variety to cover my bases. Squirtle will be at an incredible disadvantage against Lt. Surge with his electric-type Pokémon so maybe a ground or a rock-type will help. If I get lucky a steel-type, but I'm not sure where one would be on the way there._ '

Ash's musings were interrupted by a rustling in the trees, Hydro looked towards the source of the noise and readied himself. Out came a small bird that Ash immediately recognized as a Pidgey but this one was different. Rather than the standard brown and cream colors this one held the same cream colored belly but his ordinary brown colored back and wings were gold. A phenomenon in the wild that was so rare that people searched their whole lives to find and never do, yet here was one looking at him curiously not a couple miles from his starting point.

The first Pokémon he came across was _shiny_.

"Alright get ready Hydro, were going to catch it!" Ordered Ash which got a growl of approval from the small squirtle.

The Pidgey recognized the situation and took to the air and started flying forward in an impressively fast quick attack.

"Wait for it to get close then dodge to the right and hit it with an Aqua Jet!"

Pidgey, showing that it was still young as it didn't understand what was happening and continued forward without change. Hydro side-stepped to the right as ordered then surrounded himself with water type energy that allowed it launch himself forward toward the golden bird.

The bird squawked in pain but got up once again and flew back into the air. Ash and Hydro watched closely, Pidgey's wings both glowed bright and flew quickly towards the tiny turtle and slammed both glowing wings into the hard shell. Hydro and Ash were caught off guard by the moves strength as it caused Squirtle to fly back and impact into a tree.

"Squirtle…" Moaned Hydro in pain before shaking it off then taking a deep breath before spewing a large amount of water hitting the Pidgey square in the chest causing it to fall to the ground unconscious.

"Amazing Hydro you learned Water Gun!" Praised Ash before remembering what was happening. The boy pulled out a Pokéball from his pocket, enlarged it before tossing it towards the bird with excellent aim. The _shiny_ bird was enveloped by a white light and sucked into the ball, the ball laid on the ground and shook violently signifying that the bird was trying to get out. Ash and Hydro watched with anticipation as it continued to shake.

After what seemed like an eternity the button on the front blinked and a click was heard. Pidgey was captured. Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the ball.

 _Pidgey - A Flying Pokémon. It has an extremely strong sense of direction_ _and is capable of returning to its nest no matter how far away it is and how unfamiliar the surroundings are. This Pidgey is female._

 _Known Moves - Peck, Quick Attack, Sand Attack and Steel Wing. Ability - Keen Eye._

"Looks like our new teammate has quite the move set. Lets say hello." Said Ash before tossing Pidgey's ball into the air to release the Pokémon.

Pidgey looked around aimlessly before focusing in on Ash and started squawking at the human. Ash tried to understand while Hydro started talking back to the bird. Both Pokémon continued to talk back and forth, it looked like they were coming to an understanding but then the golden bird turned to him and started squawking again.

"Pidgey!" Interrupted Ash getting both Pokémon's attention. "I know this is strange but I've caught you and I would really like it if you would be a member of my team. You can train with us to become a powerful Pidgeot." Ash said trying to entice the bird Pokémon.

Pidgey looked down while hopping back and forth in thought before letting out a cry of affirmative getting a smirk out of Hydro and a grin from Ash.

"Great! Welcome to the team, would you like a nickname girl?" Asked Ash before he was met with a shake of the bird's head. Ash nodded in understanding and returned both Pokémon to give them a rest while he continued traveling.

His first day was looking pretty good, he got an excellent Squirtle - now known as Hydro, and has a _shiny_ Pidgey which he couldn't even begin to fathom his odds regarding that turn of events.

A few hours later and he could see Viridian in the distance. He didn't know much about the city itself but he knew that the Gym there was home to the powerful Giovanni; the Ground-Type trainer shrouded in mystery. The very few trainers that managed to challenge him rarely got to see his face and were quickly beaten by either his Nidoqueen or Nidoking. There were only rumors about the rest of his team as the ones to beat him were tight lipped about the info. Only best could beat Giovanni, and the ones that managed it didn't want to make it easier on future challengers.

Unfortunately, Ash couldn't challenge Giovanni yet as he required at least seven badges for entry. Most gyms had several teams to accommodate challengers of varying experience. After your first gym battle all following gyms are at minimum three on three with numbers six through eight being able to be six on six, it was up to the specific gym leaders discretion. First time trainers battle the rookie Pokémon to accommodate the challengers giving them an actual chance. Pewter was known as the easiest gym but most never face Brock's Aerodactyl or Steelix.

Ash planned on going towards Pewter to challenge the infamous Rock gym. The rock gym was a common starting ground for rookies but that didn't mean it was a weak gym. After all it took a special trainer to be considered for a Gym position let alone hold the title of leader. Of the known requirements the hardest was beating all eight main gyms with their specific specialization and having a variety of Pokémon of varying strengths to accommodate challengers of varying experience.

Luckily Ash managed to capture a Pidgey with steel wing, not to mention Hydro was his best bet to take down the massive rock snake. He'll need to work on Water Gun and steel wing but it should be enough. Maybe he could pick up another Pokémon on the way, however Ash was far too picky to go out and find an Oddish since they fall off the power spectrum compared to other Grass types.

"Hey!" Called a male voice from behind him.

Ash spun around to see a kid his age with spiky brown hair a long sleeve purple shirt and dark blue pants running up to him. He was waving rapidly trying to catch his attention and stopped in front of him breathing heavily from the sprint.

"I heard that the new kid left on his journey, the names Gary Oak my friends call me blue. Don't ask why but a friend and I were really into painting when we were little." Introduce Gary with a cocky smile.

Ash nodded with a small smile. "Ash Ketchum, how about a battle?" He challenged while taking out a Pokéball. This would be an interesting first battle, a relative of the legendary Samuel Oak. If he didn't pick Bulbasaur this should be pretty easy.

Gary responded with a smirk and tossed his ball forward revealing a green Pokémon, it was on all fours with dark green triangles patches randomly spread across its body. The large un-blossomed bulb on its back shimmered as it soaked in the suns rays greedily. It looked healthy and strong and of course Gary had picked the Pokémon that his was weak to. Ash tossed out his Pokéball and Hydro took his position for a battle, the water type glared over at the grass type already taking a dislike for his fellow starter.

"Ready?" Called Ash getting a yell out of Hydro who lowered himself to the ground on all fours mirroring Bulbasaur.

Gary and his bulbasaur both had confident looks, Gary having a cocky smirk with his Pokémon mirroring the look while not even bothering to get into a battle ready position. "When you are." Replied Gary.

Hydro suddenly spun around and started with a Tail Whip lowering Bulbasaur's defense who responded to Gary's call for a tackle and rushed forward at impressive speed. Dirt was picked up in the grass and poison type's charge, Hydro jumped away from the initial attack causing his opponent to spin on a dime and restart its assault on the water type.

"Jump over it! Then come down with a tackle!" Ordered Ash.

Following his master's order, Hydro leapt into the air causing bulbasaur to look up confused, the young Pokémon didn't have the battle instincts to respond to the unorthodox maneuver. Hydro let loose a battle cry and came down with all of his weight tackling his fellow starter into the hard earth getting a grunt of pain out of Gary's green partner.

Gary clenched his fist at the quick turnaround of the battle, "Quick use Growl!" Ordered Gary with a frown. One powerful tackle from Ash's Squirtle did critical damage after the defensive lowering effects of tail whip a status effect that a moderately powerful Pokémon could brush off, but at their current levels was critical to the fight. In other words, Gary made a huge mistake that he hoped he could fix before he lost the battle.

These thoughts went through Ash as well and knew that he could end this right now. "Hydro hit em' again with Tackle!" Ordered Ash.

It didn't take more than a second for the order to register and for Hydro to launch forward toward Bulbasaur. As he neared his opponent he felt the effects of tail whip but continued onwards landing another tackle this time putting down his opponent for good. Ash winced at the bruise that would no doubt cover Gary's Bulbasaur's skull from the rough impact.

Gary lowered his head in defeat, this was a good learning experience for him. He made the mistake of going on the offense right away and disregarding status affecting moves and it cost him. Not something he would ever forget.

"You're a good trainer Ash. Represent Pallet Town well and I'll see you around for another battle." He hated acting like he was happy after his first loss but his grandpa would be on his ass if he acted like a jerk to the new kid. He needed to catch some more Pokémon soon so he could begin training.

Ash smiled and recalled Hydro. "Thanks, I knew the only way I'd win was to lower your defenses since you had the type advantage." he said with a shrug.

Gary frowned at his own lack of forethought, he assumed that Bulbasaur would bulldoze through the blue turtle with the same ease he did the Pidgey he fought earlier. But it was for naught, now he learned a lesson that he'll never forget.

"Well, I think we should have another battle and next time more than one on one. See ya around!" Gary then ran off to continue his training and catch more team members and heal from his loss. On the bright side however, he found a nice rival to add to the list and he had a feeling that this one would go further than his other friends.

* * *

Ash let out a sigh of relief as he walked into the Pokémon center in Viridian City. A few hours of walking and a few hours of training with Hydro and Pidgey had them landing in the center a little after midnight. He would refrain from calling his mother tonight to let her know that he was here as she would likely freak out that he just got somewhere at this time. Yeah, he would let her know in the morning.

Hydro managed to learn how to withdraw at an impressive speed while Pidgey's speed and endurance improved along with the power behind her attacks. He was sure that with another round of training, he would be ready to tackle the Pewter city Gym. Also with the Viridian forest and the multitude of trainers that like to hover around there he was sure they would be ready for the gym battle with the Rock type specialist. Not to mention that he wasn't in any hurry, he has over a year until the Kanto circuit end date.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center." Greeted the local nurse Joy with a kind smile. Ash smiled back with an internal shake of the head. He used to try to figure out the mystery of the Joy's and Jenny's but his mother and several other adults told him that he should give up while he still had his sanity. Apparently he wasn't the first to try to learn the mystery and likely wouldn't be the last. Genetics were weird, especially for nurses and police officers for some reason.

"Hi, can I have a room and my Pokémon looked at?" Asked Ash. He handed his Pokéballs over to the nurse as he took a seat in the waiting room. He noticed that there was a man nocking back glasses of something he was sure wasn't soda. In the back corner of the room was a large man in a tan suit typing into some handheld device. Not many people were at the center this late and most were likely sleeping so he'd keep it down noise wise.

The waiting area for the center was like a huge living room mixed with a hospital. Several couches and tables and a few booths near the wall to eat at. The center of the area had a pillar with T.V.s on each side with the Pokémon League Network running, the channel home to all elite battles and news updates.

Ash watched a few months ago as Wallace defeated the former Hoenn Champion Steven Stone becoming the regional champion himself. The battle was incredible and a rare sight as a match between champion level trainers didn't come around very often. A Champion could go years without a challenge as the regions Elite four were usually too tough for a trainer to overcome. Lance himself in the nine years as the champion for _two regions_ no less, had only been challenged three times and two of which were from Black-Belt Bruno. Ash planned on rectifying that in the next year and a half. But the skill and power spike between the league championships and the Elite four was immense. Even Gym leaders were exceptionally powerful if allowed to go all out with their main team.

It was well known that gym leaders main teams that they were permitted to use if a challenger either requested it or possessed more than six badges were incredibly strong. If a trainer had already completed a gym circuit with their team then gym leaders would also go into their main teams. With that being said some gym leaders despite losing to rookies sometimes, had the skill to battle close to or even at elite level. Giovanni, Sabrina and Blaine were some that came to mind all three were looked at to take the next step toward ascending to the Elite four but none of them seemed that interested.

It was with that in mind that Ash wanted to challenge some of the gym leaders to a six on six battle before the league to prepare himself. Once he had his preferred team, with a particular dragon as his partner. He could only sigh in hope that he could find his orange draconic partner.

The battle on the tv currently was between two trainers participating in a tournament sponsored by the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City. The zone was set to open in about a year, ending the near decade of renovations and Pokémon population revival. Most notable were Kangaskhan, Eevee and Lapras. All three were still considered very rare and valuable but were no longer endangered. It got so bad for Lapras that people were sent to jail or even prison for capturing them. A non legendary species of Pokémon having a population of eighty-two was a frightening thought for many. Even the incredibly rare Goodra in Kalos had hundreds roaming around in the world producing more every year.

As the battle progressed one trainer's Kadabra was defeated and the man sent out a Metang. The two armed levitating steel and psychic type roared and blasted the Tauros earning the trainer the win. The Hoenn Pokémon let out a metallic roar as he and his trainer cheered for their victory.

"I would definitely love a Pokémon of the Metagross line." Ash commented to himself as the winner of the tournament was gifted his winnings; Pokédollars and most special; a pass to enter the Safari Zone early. Metagross, while not on his list as their rarity could and usually does rival the dratini line he couldn't deny the thought of the powerful steel-type being a useful addition to his team.

Ash heard a deep chuckle next to him, it turned out to be the large man with the tan suit. "Metagross are very powerful but can be difficult to train for trainers it believes to be incompetent." He said to Ash with a firm tone as if chiding the boy for the thought of catching such a Pokémon.

The rookie trainer looked up at the man noticing that he was a rather intimidating looking and staring down at him with a serious expression. Ash was no short guy, he was about five ten and this guy was easily a full head taller than him not to mention quite broad.

Nodding at the man's comment he turned back to the screen. "While difficult to train, the best things are usually the hardest to achieve. I don't expect beating Lance will be easy but I intend to do so." The fire in Ash's eyes was visible to the large man who rewarded the youth with a small smirk.

"Your beyond your years young man. A tip then," The older man leaned down before whispering. "I would recommend that once you enter the moon try up rather than straight, surviving will be tough but with enough water one should live, a strong fire would be smart, but being smart would be best."

Ash felt the man pat his back before walking off. Ash rolled his eyes at the riddle-like 'tip' and shook his head. Whoever that guy was clearly had something in mind with his advice so he'll keep the words in mind. Not that they made much sense to him.

"Mr. Ketchum, your Pokémon are ready!" The PA system sounded with Nurse Joy's melodic voice getting a smile out of Ash.

As the young trainer went to retrieve his Pokémon the older man walked out of the center. Two men in dark tracksuits sporting a red R on their chest walked up to him.

"Giovanni Sir! We were about to raid the center as per your orders." Said the man on the left while the other nodded.

A large hand was raised and Giovanni shook his head. "Leave the center, nothing of worth I want in there. Move on to Cinnabar and meet up with Archer and he'll add you to the raid." The orders were met with nods and the two men left immediately without another word.

"I will await your challenge in the coming months boy." Something about the kid made him an interesting prospect and a possible recruit to the organization depending on his thoughts towards organized crime.

It wasn't the first time a young man possessed remarkable talent and drive, but this time Giovanni wanted him on _his_ side rather than tearing down his achievements. Lord knows he failed his brat Silver who was running around Johto somewhere training his Pokémon to take on Lance. That boy, nothing but a disappointment, too much of his weak mother.

* * *

"Pidgey, maneuver like we practiced to avoid the water blasts!" Ordered Ash.

The bird swooped down under a powerful Water gun and rolled away from three quick bursts and began closing the distance. Squirtle on the ground began quickly firing off Water guns at rapid fire sacrificing quality for quantity.

The small bursts of water kept flying towards Pidgey with pinpoint precision, the small bird Pokémon did all she could to avoid them. Getting closer to her target her wings started glowing and she swooped down low almost getting blasted by water and nailed Hydro with a steel wing right into the chest.

The turtle Pokémon was sent tumbling away crashing into a bush behind him. "That was great Pidgey! Your getting the hang of maneuvering in the air at the last second." Praised Ash. The small bird puffed out her chest at her trainers praise.

"Hydro! Where'd ya go buddy?" Called Ash toward the bush that his starter was sent tumbling into. The bush rustled and Hydro ran out pointing toward the bush frantically.

"Squirt Squirtle!" The tiny turtle tried to explain but Ash not knowing what he was saying decided to investigate himself.

Walking quickly over and through the thick bush that Hydro was sent through, mentally appraising Pidgey's power for sending him this far with a single hit. He heard something whimper and sped up, on the ground clearly in pain was a small brown Pokémon trying to stand up but was failing.

Kneeling down Ash tried to sooth the small Eevee. "Hey, don't try to get up. I'm sorry about that we were training. I'll fix you up and take you to get healed right now."

Ash bent down with a potion, the Eevee felt threatened and growled at him trying to get him to back off. "I'm not going to hurt you, this will make you feel better I promise." He spread his fingers and made sure not to show any of his teeth, fists and teeth were a sign of aggression and he didn't want the Eevee getting skittish.

Feeling no malice from the trainer the Eevee looked away and allowed him to approach. Ash sprayed the leg with potion and could see the relief in Eevee's eyes immediately and the Pokémon marveled at the medicine the human gave it.

Potions were incredible resources mused Ash, they could instantly heal injuries such as cuts and bruises and relieve muscle stress. The more powerful the potion the better the effects, unfortunately broken bones weren't healed by normal potions, only the extremely expensive and hard to get Full Restores could do such a thing. But between costing thousands for just one and needing to have a special permit to buy them, Ash didn't think he'd be getting one any time soon.

With Eevee looking better but still hurt Ash bent down to pick it up. "Don't worry I'm going to take you to the Pokémon center to get you all fixed up ok." The Eevee yipped and allowed Ash to carry it.

Back in Ash's temporary clearing Pidgey and Hydro were waiting for Ash to return. Pidgey was attacking a tree with her steel wing trying to increase her power while squirtle was pushing a large rock to increase his strength.

Ash returned to see his Pokémon training diligently and nodded happily. "Okay you two I'm going to take this Eevee to the center, continue working and I will be back later." He ordered and the two sounded out their affirmatives and went back to work.

* * *

"Eevee's sprained ankle is as good as new Mr. Ketchum. Here she is." Said Nurse Joy while presenting the small brown Pokémon to the trainer.

Ash smiled and picked up the Pokémon and held her in his arms stroking her absentmindedly. Walking out of the hospital part of the center Ash looked at the purring Pokémon with a smile.

"I know you were hurt by my Squirtle but I would love to have you on my team. If you'd want I could catch you, and we could train together with my other Pokémon." Offered Ash with a smile while still stroking the Eevee.

Eevee listened to Ash's offer and hopped up to his shoulder to give his cheek a lick and let out a happy yip. Taking that as a yes Ash tapped her with a Pokéball. With no resistance the ball immediately let out a click.

Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the ball.

 _Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. Eevee is a unique Pokémon that can adapt to its environment by changing its form and abilities when evolving. This Eevee is Female._

 _Known Moves - Tackle, Growl and Quick Attack. Ability - Adaptability._

Ash smirked and released his Eevee and bent down to pet her head, she leaned into his hand and purred delightedly. "Your quite the impressive Eevee girl."

Eevee held her chin higher from the praise and continue to receive his affection happily.

"Now I'll tell you my plans. We're in Viridian City right now. The gym doesn't take challengers without seven badges so we'll come here last. We're going to Pewter City but to get there we need to get through the Viridian forest. I want to train you here for another day or so and start through the forest, it shouldn't take more than a couple days. I hope to teach you swift and iron tail by the time we get to Pewter City. I hope your ready because while I plan to have fun adventures on my journey, when it's time to train we train hard. That way we can win more tournaments."

Eevee listened throughout all of Ash's explanation quietly, it sounded like a lot of hard work. She'd never had to do such a thing, her parents were powerful so they handled everything in the wild until she went out on her own and the only problem she'd had was a squirtle flying through a bush plowing into her. Ash clearly wanted her to become powerful and have her evolve into something to help his team. She herself always thought her Umbreon mother was beautiful and elegant but her Jolteon father was powerful and fast. Well she'll get to decide on that later.

Seeing that her trainer was still looking at her she hopped up and sat on his shoulder and gave him a firm yip. If he wanted her to be strong then she'll be the best Eevee and best partner he's ever had.

Ash patted his Pokémon and sat down at the video phone. First thing to do was to let his mother know he made it to Viridian.

"Ketchum residence this is— Ash! Oh honey it's so good to see you!" Delia cheered at the site of her son, he may have only been gone for a few days but it felt like a part of her was missing in the time she spent alone.

Ash grinned at his mom, "I'm doing great! I caught some awesome Pokémon. Matter of fact one is here with me."

As Ash said that Eevee jumped onto his lap and yipped at the screen. She began to purr when Ash rubbed her head affectionately. Delia positively swooned at the sight of the uncommon evolution Pokémon.

"Oh she is so beautiful! Her coat is shiny and smooth, I would guess she's about two maybe three years old." Said Delia while taking in the Pokémon's appearance. "I would love to spend so time with her after she evolves."

Ash smiled at his mother on the screen. "I don't think that would happen for a while, I haven't trained with her yet much less discussed what she would like to evolve into. Not to mention I don't even have a full team yet to start switching Pokémon out." He explained hoping to not anger her, it was for unnecessary though as she gave him a warm smile.

"I know honey that will be further down the road, I hope you train hard my boy. Please call me when you get to Pewter." She said firmly before waving and hanging up.

Ash stood up and had Eevee follow him out. They had some training to finish before they started heading toward the Viridian Forest. Trainer hotspot and local haven for Bug type Pokémon.

* * *

The Viridian forest was a beautiful place, that was without a doubt. The canopy was thick enough to block the hot sun but the gaps let in rays of sun to provide light. It gave the forest an ethereal feel that called to Ash. In the two weeks that he's been a trainer this was his favorite spot he'd been to.

His Pokémon have been progressing wonderfully in their individual and group battle training. Pidgey who still hasn't decided if she wanted a name was becoming a force to be recon with in the air. Hydro was a brick wall of power for his small stature, his water gun was getting more and more powerful by the day. Eevee was coming along nicely, after going through his Pokédex he learned that even in this form she could learn a multitude of moves depending on the parent Pokémon.

The parent Pokémon also have, according to the Pokédex, a strong influence on what Eevee's usually choose to evolve into. So far Ash saw that Eevee was learning to harness Ghost-type energy to use Shadow Ball, a strong move that will give her a good diversity. After that Ash would start teaching her Iron Tail. Hydro, in a training match gone crazy managed to utilize a weak skull bash against Eevee almost learning the powerful physical move.

Pidgey already had a good set of moves and was working on Gust, she had the power but lacked the real control to create a gale force strong enough for an actual battle.

So far Ash had spent two hours inside the forest and in that time has been having his Pokémon attack and battle wild Pokémon that approached giving them experience. He'd keep an eye out for strong Pokémon but so far nothing of interest. He had not interest in Weedle or Caterpie, he hasn't seen the rare Syther or Pinser but he wouldn't hold his breath on that.

It was surprising that he hasn't run into any other trainers as this was a well know training area for rookies.

"Piidooo!" Ash looked up to his circling bird who swooped down and landed on his shoulder. As he was about to ask what was up when he heard rustling and the sound of footsteps catching his attention.

Walking through the forest was another trainer, he was wearing dark pants and had a purple jacket that matched his old purple hair. He had a stern look on his face as he looked through the area and narrowed his eyes when they landed on him or rather- landed on Pidgey. Instantly Ash knew what this was about.

Ash walked over and offered him a smile trying to ease the situation. "Hiya! I'm Ash, we should have a battle!" This would be his second chance to have a real battle and he wouldn't turn away the opportunity.

"So that's your Pokémon?" The boy muttered angrily before smiling at the other trainer. "The names Paul, I agree we should battle. However instead of money as the winnings, how about we put a Pokémon up for grabs." Paul face held a confident smirk as he stared into Ash's eyes trying to get a read on him.

"After all, that _Shiny_ Pidgey would do wonderful under a _real_ trainer." Mocked Paul not only angering Ash but Pidgey who turned to Ash and squawked angrily.

Seeing that Paul had the two where he wanted them he sweetened the deal. The only type of Pokémon that any sane trainer who be willing to bet a shiny for had to be something equally as valuable or powerful. It was a gift from his brother, it was a potentially powerful ally but it was quite disobedient and angry Pokémon, even his Grotle couldn't get it to listen so even if he lost he'd be rid of the nuisance.

Pulling out a Pokéball he released a blue serpent-like Pokémon that stole Ash's breath away, what were the odds of this. ' _This is it! The one Pokémon that I've dreamt of capturing right in front of me! But it's attitude seems off._ ' He thought both amazed and curious.

Seeing that Ash noticed his tiny dragon's disposition Paul snarled silently, leave it to dratini to ruin a good opportunity like this by just showing up. He'll definitely be having words with the little nuisance later after he won. But for now he needed to make sure that Ash would accept the offer, ' _Hopefully he's a little on the slow side not to notice.'_ Thought Paul before thinking up an explanation.

"This is a dratini that my older brother gave me, he was born to my brothers Dragonite a couple months ago. He's…fierce and will make an equal offer for your shiny Pidgey. So we got a deal?" Paul tried to telepathically order Dratini to seem inviting but the only thing it was doing was stare at the Shiny Pidgey on Ash's shoulder.

Ash turned to Pidgey, as much as he'd love the chance to capture his dream partner now, he'd never risk losing his current Pokémon in the hopes of gaining another. "What do you think? I wont do it if you don't want me to I'm happy with my team so far."

Pidgey, still angry at the purple haired boys words cawed and flew into the air taking it's position for the battle. "If you're sure." Muttered Ash before nodding towards Paul.

Seeing that he'd rather not risk losing the opportunity for an incredibly rare and strong Pokémon he sent out his starter and current strongest; Grotle. Ash pulled out his Pokédex to scan it.

 _Grotle, the Grove Pokémon and the evolved form of Turtwig. Grotle lives near water in forests, and leaves the forest during the day to allow light to shine on the tree on its shell._

Knowing that Paul really wanted his Pokémon he likely sent out his strongest to win the battle, fortunately Pidgey was really strong herself and was close to evolving like Hydro was, their training has been tough like he promised it would be but they were about to show why that was the case.

"This will be one on one ok?" Called Ash getting a nod out of Paul. Ash bent down to pick up a stick and threw it into the air, both trainers knew that when it his the ground the battle would begin.

Ash waited until the last second before calling out. "Pidgey quick sand!" Ordered Ash getting a strange look out of Paul who ordered Grotle to stand firm and fire razor leaves.

The training with Hydro payed of as Pidgey's air maneuverability was excellent for it's level of experience. Pidgey's speed and agility abled it to close the distance and land right in front of Grotle and launched a sand attack right into it's eyes.

Ash smirked, quick sand was a simple move, quick attack to close distance and sand attack when in range. Lower opponents accuracy and surprise them with the unknown command. It would only work the first time though as people would know what it was next time. Sand attack was easy to avoid, closing eyes usually did the trick.

"Grotle razor leaf more rather than power!" Ordered Paul getting over the surprise maneuver making a mental note to come up with similar when he had pidgey.

"Pidgey into the air and blow them away with Gust I know you can do it."

The bird Pokémon was hit by some of the razor sharp leaves but powered through pain to spin mid air and gave a mighty flap of her wings blowing away the incoming barrage of leaves and even hit Grotle for some damage. Seeing her chance she lit her wings with power and blasted towards the opponent.

"Pidgey get in close and give him a powerful peck!"

"Grotle stop it and slam it into the ground!"

Pidgey closed the distance and before it could peck her opponent was smacked by a tackle from the heavy grass type with the Grotle on top of her she struggled to get out. With the bird under it Grotle used Absorb to to get some energy back.

"Pidgey peck then steal wing! Get out of there!"

Smirking at his victory almost assured at this point Paul ordered his Pokémon to give a bite. But Pidgey went for the throat, literally and began pecking the Grotle's throat stopping it before it could bite down, however it hasn't moved yet other than to cry out in pain form the super effective attack barrage.

"Now pidgey! Get out of there!" With her trainers instance and encouragement she began forcing as much power into her wings as she could and gave a the biggest and strongest flap she ever has in her short life as a battler.

Grotle was lifted off the Pidgey and thrown away from the point blank steel wing and after the multiple pecks it wasn't feeling top shape anymore. But it wasn't going down yet with a roar it released a powerful barrage of razor leaves with as much speed and power as it could but the earlier sand attack came into play as most were off target and Pidgey was able to easily avoid them. Without Ash's order she sped toward the grass-type wings glowing but not with the steel type energy but with the flying power that she was born with. Grotle listened to it's trainer and withdrew into it self giving it protection.

The Wing Attack smacked into Grotle throwing it across the ground doing damage but not nearly as much as if it wasn't withdrawn in it's shell.

"Swoop low and gust now! I know you can do this Pidgey!" Cheered Ash with his faithful bird following it's orders.

"Roll and energy ball!" The Grotle did as it was told and rolled away and got back on it's legs and charged up an energy ball, but the bird was the faster and got eye level and proceeded to give two mighty flaps rather than the one and produced a powerful wind blast that picked Grotle off the ground and sent it flying. When it finally stopped it fell down and passed out, the super effective move hitting so close was enough to finish the battle.

"Pidooooo!" Cawed Pidgey before taking on a white glow.

Ash ran over with a face splitting grin with the forgotten blue dragon following behind, interested in the development. Pidgey while shining bright as it's body morphed let out a loud screech before it's form was revealed.

Pidgeotto was far larger than it's previous form easily coming up to Ash's waste. It's color was still the same shiny rarity. The feathers on it's head were gold and the plumage on it's tail altered between gold and orange. She was beautiful and seemed even deadlier than before, Ash could be more happy.

"Wow amazing Pidgeotto! You evolved, I knew you and Hydro were close but I guess that Grotle was strong enough to push you to it." Cheered Ash at his new Pokémon but it was time for him to receive his newest Pokémon from his challenger.

Paul recalled Grotle and frowned, it was a surprise that his starter lost but it gave him insight into what he needed to train. If energy ball was quicker then this battle would have been the other way around. Not to mention lack of ranged attacks, razor leaf wasn't going to cut it evidently. Not while energy ball was still too slow, he assumed that moves taught by a technical machine were instantly mastered but evidently not and that ignorance cost him a shiny Pokémon.

Knowing that Ash will want his reward he pulled out the blue terrors ball. Despite losing a dragon type Paul didn't find himself angry, he's been planing on looking for another one in the safari zone to replace it. That was one of the few places that they were rumored to be found all the time regardless of seasons. Finding them in the wild was risky and extremely dangerous but if anywhere had them it would be the safari zone.

Handing the ball over to ash and typing into his pokédex while Ash held his up the transfer was complete. "That was a good battle, I'll be challenging you the next time we meet so don't slack off and disappoint me."

Ash felt a little annoyed at the remark especially coming from the loser of the battle but held it in. He wouldn't want someone to gloat to him after losing one of the team members. Strangely however, Paul didn't seem to mind and didn't even glance at the small dragon.

"I would like to battle you again to Paul, and thanks for the Dratini, you have no idea how long I've wanted one. They are my favorite Pokémon!" Cheered Ash unable to hold it in anymore, Pidgeotto cawed happily and landed next to their new friend who was gazing at the lot of them with disinterest.

Paul was about to walk away but decided to add more. "That little beast is only good at disappointing, when my brother gave it to me I thought he'd be a powerful dragon but he never listened to me once. So good luck with it." With that Paul walked off not sparing a single glance towards the dragon.

Ash frowned at the Pokémon's treatment and kneeled down next to it. His knowledge about dragons wasn't extensive but knew that they only responded to strength. "My name is Ash Ketchum, I'm training to be the best Pokémon Master in the world. I know that you were someone else's but I know we can work together as a team. If you'll have me I'll make sure that your a powerful Dragonite soaring through the air crushing opponents left and right." Ash got more and more passionate as he spoke until he was on his feet looking down at the small dragon.

Dratini listened attentively, he remembered his father the strong Dragonite and his mother the Altaria both who could soar through the air majestically. Even the Pidgeotto the human used to win him from the other human who tried to command him before had a certain grace to it. But he was proud, no one he didn't deem worthy would ever command him, that Grotle and Elekid treated Paul like he was the greatest thing in the world and followed him like slaves. But that wasn't him, he wasn't a slave he wasn't a servant he was a dragon and one day would be a mighty Dragonite. The human who won him didn't seem like the kind to expect complete subjugation during the battle, he seemed to put his trust in the bird and managed to win.

The Human was passionate and seemed to have a good head on it's shoulders but he wouldn't completely trust him yet. Not until he saw that the human wouldn't treat him like a servant, like Paul. For now he'd see where the boy lead him and if he could make his promise come to reality.

Ash watched as Dratini looked down in thought before gazing into his eyes intently then after several minutes dipped it's head in acceptance. Ash let out a cheer and released his team to meet their newest addition. Hydro sized it up and Eevee walked up to sniff it before jumping into Ash's arms.

"This is our newest team member, Dratini. I know everyone will get along and we'll take down Brock in Pewter in no time!" Cheered Ash.

The Pokémon called out happily save for Dratini who was looking around at everyone blankly.

Ash pulled out his Pokédex and scanned his newest addition.

 _Dratini, the Dragon Pokémon. Dratini sheds its skin as it grows, often doing so while hidden behind large powerful waterfalls. This Dratini is male._

 _Known Moves - Wrap, Leer, Thunder Wave, Twister and Dragon Rage. Ability - Shed Skin._

Ash whistled at the moves, Paul said that he got it from his brother's Dragonite so that would mean that it was obviously taught by it's parents before being given to be with Paul. Ash couldn't contain his excitement, a Dragon! He got one not three weeks into his journey! Granted some actually have dragon starters but he didn't have a crazy powerful Pokémon trainer as his parent to give him rare powerful Pokémon or a fortune to buy one. But he'll make due with this.

"Ok Dratini, I want you to use Dragon Rage on that tree, show me your power." Ordered Ash firmly while pointing to a smaller tree a safe way away.

Dratini build up the Draconic energy and spat it out towards the tree blasting half of it away causing it to fall down in a heap of lumber. He silently approved of his power and was surprised that his trainer cheered him on. Feeling a rush of excitement the tiny dragon began blasting away at everything it could happy to reek havoc. Trees, bushes and rocks weren't safe from the dragon and Ash saw that he would have to intervene.

"That's enough! You pack quite the punch huh. How about I call you blast huh? You certainly love blasting away at whatever is in sight." Joked Ash not expecting the proud serpent to like the name. He was however shocked to hear a pleased coo come from the small Pokémon.

Setting down the Eevee in his arms getting an annoyed huff out of her, he knelt down next to Dratini. "Blast. I think it's a great name for a dragon like you. Welcome to the team." Ash then returned the dragon and smirked at the ball. Wait until his mom and the professor heard about this.

* * *

The next couple of days went by the same; training in the forest, battling wild Pokémon and having his team master their moves or begin trying to learn more.

Eevee surprised him by quickly mastering Shadow Ball and began working on Thunder Fang, apparently her parents were the dark type Umbreon and the lightning type Jolteon. Knowing that she would want to master her egg moves he let her continue. Hydro and blast were both working on Aqua Tail, Blast was making considerable progress but Hydro had more water power to work with.

Pidgeotto was perfecting Gust and Wing Attack and flying through the air to get a feel of her new bodies strength.

So far Ash hadn't seen any wild Pokémon that he wanted to catch, not that he had any real interest in bug types. They could be powerful but the Caterpie and Weedle that he kept running into didn't evolve into anything he would really use long term.

His team so far was looking good. Water, normal, flying and dragon. He needed fire and electric or ground for more diversity.

Ash noticed a boy in samurai armor ahead that was battling a Kakuna with his Metapod. He shook his head at the multiple orders of 'harden', what was it with bug types and harden they weren't known to be tanks most of the time. Especially those two.

The boy noticed him and ran over. "I challenge you to a battle! My Metapod vs whatever you want."

Ash resisted rolling his eyes and nodded, he'd let Eevee have it. With a toss his Pokémon was in a battle ready stance.

The boy tossed Metapod onto the ground and ran to his position. Ash snorted at the treatment of the Pokémon and focused on the battle.

"Harden!"

Rolling his eyes he ordered Eevee. "Quick attack."

Eevee responded instantly with a burst of speed taking on a white glow as she utilized the speed enhancing technique. Metapod ever loyal, listened and hardened itself and took the hit from Eevee. It was sent tumbling away not stopping until it hit a tree.

Eevee turned back to her trainer who shrugged and waited to see if Metapod was still conscious. The answer came in the form of an evolution and out came a Butterfree hovering in the sky ready to battle.

Seeing that the battle looked to actually be a battle and not a one sided beat down Ash grinned. "Shadow ball!"

"Avoid it and come down with stun spore!"

Butterfree flew around the dark energy ball and barrel rolled away from another and released it's spores. Ash ordered Eevee to get out of there and it held it's breath and quick attacked to the other side of the field. Eevee spun on a dime and released two more Shadow balls one of which managing to hit. Getting a cry of pain out of the butterfly Pokémon.

"Finish it with Quick attack Eevee!"

"Don't let it dodge then use poison sting!"

Eevee had the familiar glow of power and sped toward the Butterfree and hit the Pokémon center chest knocking it out of the sky, Eevee was about to follow up when it felt sick.

"Stand firm Eevee! Use Shadow Ball and finish this!"

Butterfree flew towards the normal type suffering under the effects of poison and went in for a tackle. Eevee wasn't one to loose, she wasn't going to let her trainer down and she wasn't going to loose to some bug that just evolved. Getting in close Eevee's jaw began to glow and crackle with electricity she bit the bug with a perfect Thunder Fang ending the fight with a knock out.

"Great work Eevee! Your were awesome!" Congratulated Ash as he stroked the proud Pokémon.

"That was a fantastic battle, my Pokémon only needed a small push to evolve and he got it. Pewter is about an hours walk from here the end of the forest is right ahead." Gestured the Samurai.

"Thanks for the battle, Eevee is looking great for her battle with Brock. See you around." Ash waved as he continued onwards toward the gym.

* * *

"Welcome to the Pewter City Pokémon Center." The ever polite nurse Joy greeted as Ash made it to the hospital side of the Pokemon Center. Ash recalled Eevee who had been walking with him and handed his four Pokéballs to the nurse and went to the video phone to make some calls.

Fist on the list wasn't his mother but someone he was dying to talk to. Professor Oak.

The Professors face popped up on the screen and he smiled at the rookie. "Ah Ash nice to hear from you, what can I help you with?"

"Good to see you again Professor. I actually called to ask you a few questions about a Pokémon I won a few days ago." Started Ash.

Professor Oak nodded, he was in charge of the trainers he sponsored and with that being only three people he kept up with their progress. He was extremely surprised that Ash managed to find let alone catch a Dratini so quickly but hearing that he won it made it a little more believable than finding it in Viridian. The dragons were often offered at tournaments as first place prizes after all.

"I am aware that you received a Dratini, color me impressed Ash not a common Pokémon for rookies to capture." Praised Samuel chuckling at the glowing pride Ash now had. "How'd you manage to get it anyway?"

"Well a trainer, a jerk if you ask me, saw my pidgey and battled me to win her and offered his Dratini as his Pokémon that I'd win. Thing is he didn't even seem to want the dragon he didn't even care that he lost it actually, apparently the dragon never liked him anyway. But my Pidgey evolved into Pidgeotto during the battle so it was a double win." Explained Ash narrowing his eyes in thought, Dratini was healthy so he doubted that it was neglected but the harsh training likely turned the proud dragon off it's trainer.

Oak found that he had several more questions from the explanation rather than answers. "Why would someone offer a Dratini as collateral for a pidgey? Did Dratini have signs of abuse? Trainers who don't care about their Pokémon would often… discipline them." As he finished talking Oak got more and more serious as he stared at the boy.

Ash however raised his hands at the former Champion. "No no, Dratini is in fine shape, matter of fact he's pretty strong and is getting bigger every day he's almost four feet long as it is. As for why he'd offer up Dratini, well you might not believe this but Pidgeotto is shiny."

Samuel Oak leaned forward forward trying to contain himself _really_ trying. "OH YOU HAVE TO LET ME HAVE A LOOK AT IT!" Shouted a positively ecstatic Oak at the thought of studying a shiny in person. "Not only is the Shiny phenomenon extremely rare but it is rumored that the gene mutations affect a Pokémon's abilities, some even suggest that they increase a Pokémon's natural strengths. It's for that reason that they are so coveted, naturally I wish to study it for myself."

Ash smiled at the Professor, "Sure, I don't plan on using her for my gym battle so I'll send her over to you after her check up, I'll need her back in a few days though."

Oak nodded vigorously before his eyes narrowed seriously. "Ash," He began, his voice firm. "What you have is not only a rare Pokémon but valuable and the more valuable the more people who would want it. The fact that someone would offer a Dragon as collateral should tell you. I'm saying this because some may not ask for it they may _take_ it. Be careful, and if you see people with a red R on they shirts, do. not. let. them. see. it. Especially not until you team is stronger, much stronger."

Ash felt sweat begin to pop up on his forehead as he took in the professors words. Maybe it would be good to send Pidgeotto to Professor Oak for a few weeks, she is the strongest right now having evolved already. Hydro was close, he wasn't sure if Eevee knew what she wanted to be yet and Blast was a dragon. They naturally evolve to their second forms regardless of training it marked leaving childhood to adulthood, it was their final for that would take amazing amounts of training and dedication.

"Professor, I'll send Pidgeotto over today. I'll get her back in Cerulean City." Confirmed Ash, he didn't want to part with her but this was for the best. "Now I called to ask you about raising a dragon, I studied them before my journey but I never thought I'd get one this early. Since you had a Dragonite is there anything you can tell me?"

Oak nodded thoughtfully, he and his Dragonite were quite the team back in the day. Hell he could likely give that young Lance's Dragonite a run for it's money but that was neither here nor there. "Well, first thing is to treat them with respect, they are prideful beasts. Second is training, dragons are strong and want to reach their full potential. I would recommend training his everyday and to have him constantly improve what he knows, if he sees that your a worthy trainer he'll begin to trust you more. If not he'll ignore you or worse attack you, if he begins to do that I would recommend releasing him or making him summit by beating it in a battle."

Ash once again nodded along with what the professor was telling him. It wasn't anything he didn't already know, treat with respect, show strength and don't back down. Luckily he got the nicer dragon Pokémon species, he'd heard horror stories from trainers who'd try to raise a Hydreigon only to be harmed terribly by the dark dragon.

"Thank you professor." The call came to an end and Ash let out a sigh.

Before making another call Ash decided to pull out his Pokédex to look up some information. There was an online trading website under the Pokémon League was wear all the best Pokémon were bought and traded. He could also look up other purchases. He wanted to see how valuable a shiny truly was. He wasn't disappointed either.

A shiny Ratatta was sold last month for over three hundred thousand Pokédollars to a collector. A lame Pokémon like that selling for that much! Imagine his Pidgeotto or even a golden Pidgeot. Wow he could make a literal fortune not to mention the suspicions in the research community that suspect shiny Pokémon naturally became stronger than their regular counterparts. No wonder Paul was willing to part with his Dratini for his Pidgey.

This also gave further value to what Professor Oak said regarding Pidgeotto and the danger of showing her off. He needed to strengthen his team before he could show her off without being worried. For now he'll focus on Brock, the Rock Specialist.

From rumor and research Brock was a powerful trainer who was usually the first or second badge most earn giving him the false rep as a weak gym. Gym leaders couldn't use their main team unless their opponent had more than six badges or specifically requested it. But even though he was beaten more often than the other main gyms, he had a rookie crushing Onix that had sent many home crying.

Ash will have to save Hydro for Onix, if it was two on two he'll go with Eevee. Three on Three he'll go with Dratini, Pidgeotto was strong but he didn't want her going against rock types just yet.

Arriving at the from entrance of the Gym Ash gave off a confident grin and stepped forward, this was it. His first gym battle.

* * *

 _Author Notes_

Welcome to my Pokémon Story.

So far Ash has caught some power houses, or at least potentially powerful. I chose squirtle as the starter as that was my first starter I ever picked back in Pokémon red, I didn't want to copy my older brother who picked charmander so yeah. The Dratini line is my favorite Pokémon the first time a won a battle with my friends it was my level seventy one dragonite that managed the clutch win, from then on he became a permanent member of all my Pokémon teams. So I had Ash have a preference for the orange dragon.


	2. Constant Progress

_World of Pokémon #2_

 _Over one hundred and fifty years ago a group of powerful Pokémon trainers decided to come together to for a club. At first they would have fights to the death between their Pokémon and place bets on the outcomes. This sport caught on and was latter sold on pay-per-view and Pokémon_ _were bred to win death matches. It wasn't until a trainer, known only as the Master, stormed into one of the death matches and defeated every Pokémon in attendance with his own partners._

 _By befriending his Pokémon and training them, they became stronger and evolved to their final forms making quick work of the others. Seeing that the way that they were raising their Pokémon wasn't the best way to go about it the Powerful trainers disbanded their club and instead, under the Master's leadership, formed a organization for anyone to join. The powerful trainers went to their home towns to form the first generation Gyms._

 _The Master went down in history as the founder of the Pokémon League and the first ever Champion. Not much is known about him but that he had a Charizard as his partner and Strongest Pokémon._

* * *

The Pewter City Gym was a huge building with a large dome roof, on the inside was a waiting room that looked more like a lounge. There were vending machines with regular food and Pokblocks for trainers. On the walls were TVs playing the PLN and a large staircase leading to the second level where the arena was.

Ash wonder why there wasn't anyone else in the lounge and decided to walk right up the stairs towards the arena. Standing on the staircase leaning on the railing was a large man who looked more like a mountain hiker than a trainer. He was typing into a Pokégear and looked up when he noticed Ash walking up.

"Hey kid, you here to challenge Brock?" Asked the man staring down at Ash.

Nodding Ash continued to climb the steps towards the gym. The man's hand rose and he stopped the rookie trainer.

"Brock isn't here, he went to solve a problem at the Pokémon Center. Apparently some kid got lucky and caught a Gyarados and it started a rampage when nurse Joy tried to heal it." Explained the man with a shake of his head.

Ash groaned but shook his head and turned around to leave the building. ' _Well with Brock predisposed I guess I can put in one more day of training. Or I could explore to try and find another Pokémon._ '

With that settled Ash made his way out of Pewter Gym toward the wilds surrounding the city. Rather than south to Viridian Forest, he turned east toward Route three towards Mt. Moon.

* * *

The route heading toward the caves of Mt. Moon were inhabited by many Pokémon. He saw several Mankey fighting with each other in the trees.

Some bug types suckling the tree sap and several trainers training their Pokémon. Ash went towards a shady area and released Eevee, she had the best nose and was good company. As he idly stroked his Eevee he started thumbing through the move list for his Pokémon that he could teach them next.

Hydro could learn iron defense and increase the power for his water attacks. Ice beam and Blizzard were obvious choices but Squirtle didn't have the power to use the non water type moves only Wartortle and Blastoise could use the moves without an incredible amount of training that would likely evolve Squirtle before it was over.

Eevee would need to decide what she wanted to become before he taught her anything more than Iron tail and bite. Take down was possible but she didn't have the constitution to use it in a battle with another strong Pokémon. Pidgeotto had many moves she could learn for now he would have her working on Roost while she was at Professor Oak's Lab for the time being. Blast was easy, he would have him working on Thunderbolt. Since he already knew Thundershock it shouldn't take too long for him to generate more power for the powerful lightning bolt.

"Eevee, I think it's time we looked into what you want to evolve into." Said Ash while looking down at her with a smile. He went through his Pokédex and pulled up pictures of all her possible choices. "Half of these need stones but the others need particular environments to trigger the evolution."

Eevee bent her head down and nuzzled the picture of Umbreon. Ash grinned and clicked on the information page.

"Umbreon, an excellent choice. Your dad was an Umbreon right?" Eevee shook her head and yipped causing Ash to understand. "Right it was your mother, that explains your attachment to Umbreon and drive to learn shadow ball. Well it says here that you need to feel attached to me and train under moonlight. Not difficult, not to seem forward but I already think of you as family so for now it's night time training until you evolve. The Pokédex data says it shouldn't take too long some Eevee accidentally evolve since the only requirements are to be happy and train at night."

Eevee nuzzled Ash's cheek and yipped once more. She walked off of him and went to a shady spot to lay down, when she sniffed the air she lowered herself and began growling at the bushes making Ash quietly approach. From the bushes came a yellow rodent who looked at Ash curiously before noticing the growling Eevee and started to produce lightning on it's cheeks.

"Whoa whoa calm down everyone!" Said Ash getting Eevee to calm down and Pikachu to turn back to him curiously. "Hi Pikachu, would you like to have a battle?"

Pikachu got down on all fours and readied itself getting a grin out of Ash. "Well Eevee, lets go!"

Pikachu sped off in an impressive quick attack catching Eevee off guard. With the physical contact Pikachu's ability activated and paralyzed Eevee getting a whine out of her.

"Eevee shadow ball and get in close for a tackle!"

Eevee tried her best and powered up a shadow ball blasting it toward her opponent. Pikachu was surprised by the attack and took it head on in it's daze received a quick attack full on. However with the static ability activated again and Eevee fell down from the paralyzation unable to continue battle. Ash recalled Eevee and released Blast, the dragon sized up it's opponent before lowering it's head using leer without a command.

"Blast hit it with dragon rage! Stay away from it at all costs."

Blast didn't need to be told twice and charged up his strongest move. Pikachu met the dragon rage with an impressive thunder bolt and shot off with an impressive quick attack to close distance. Blast didn't like that and roared before using twister catching Pikachu in the draconic energy storm getting a cry of pain.

"Finish with another dragon rage!"

Loving that his trainer wanted to finish the battle with a bang Blast charged up a powerful dragon rage and fired it directly into the Pikachu's chest ending the battle with a critical hit.

Ash smirked down at the dragon. "You certainly have some impressive power, good job Blast." Praised Ash as he recalled the dragon.

Ash tossed a Pokéball at the yellow rodent and with the unconscious rodent unable to struggle was caught immediately. Ash pulled out a couple berries and used a revive on the Captured Pikachu before scanning the ball.

 _Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. It can generate electric attacks from the electric pouches located in both of its cheeks. This Pikachu is male._

 _Known Moves - Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, Growl, Quick Attack, Electro ball and Thunder Bolt._ _Ability - Static and Lightning Rod._

Ash tossed the Pokéball containing his newest member and was met with a yellow tail slapping him in the face by an irate Pikachu.

"Pi pika Pikachu!" He shouted at Ash while waving his arms around and making his tail on the ground over and over.

Ash shook his head trying to decipher the game of charades. "I know your telling me something, something important."

Pikachu walked over to Ash's belt and grabbed its ball and tossed it onto the ground and began hitting it with its tail. Ash now thought he knew the problem, "You don't like your ball?"

The yellow rodent jumped up with a happy squeak and Ash nodded his head with a sigh. "Well I guess you can stay out of it, I don't mind having company to walk with. Strange though since all my other Pokémon like to be in their ball lets them relax."

"Chaa." Sighed Pikachu as he jumped up to Ash's shoulder and rubbed his cheek with its own. Ash laughed at his new friend and gave his head a pat.

"Well I guess we should head back to the center to have you and Eevee checked on then I'll introduce you to the team." Told Ash to the Pikachu. "Also tonight you and the team will get in a night session, mostly for Eevee but I want to see what you're capable of."

* * *

Turned out that the Gyarados problem took three days to settle, Brock managed to put an end to it with his Steelix but the damage to both the Pokémon Center and innocent buildings around the area was enough that the Gym closed until for three days while Brock helped the City recover.

Ash had taken the time to train his team. During the days everyone would be working on new moves while Eevee battled and trained at night. So far he had her working on the move moonlight, a healing move that worked on drawing energy from the weather and worked best at night. He was sure that in the next week or two of this and Eevee would evolve. Eevee's didn't take much at all to evolve after all.

With Pikachu's help, Blast was able to make progress on Thunderbolt. Hydro still hadn't evolved but his tail was getting bushier and skin was getting darker. Pidgeotto was working on Roost, a smart move for her to learn as she would be able to recover and would remove the flying typing for a few minutes meaning that Pidgeotto would only be weak to fighting moves during the battle. Ash hoped that she wasn't lonely at Oak's Ranch.

Team training was for Iron tail; Blast, Eevee and Pikachu were working on it together. The move was a good close range steel type move that would be useful to gain distance with an opponent that got to close. He was happy with his team's progress.

Ash found himself once again at the entrance to the Pewter City Gym and this time he'd get the challenge and hopefully a badge.

Ash walked inside the Gym and through the lounge waiting area and up the stairs. The Arena wasn't well lit but he could make out the rocky field and viewing stands.

"Ah a challenger. May I have your name, I of course am Brock Slate." Introduce Brock and when he spoke the entire Arena lit up and the whole place became visible. The battlefield was larger than Ash thought and had scars from past battles, Ash could tell he was in for a fight.

"Ash Ketchum!", "Pikachu!" Ash and Brock chuckled at the energetic mouse.

Brock walked down and stood on his trainer platform, Ash mirroring his movement on the other side. "I hope you don't plan to use that Pikachu." Commented Brock.

Ash gave Pikachu a pat and shook his head, "No I have other Pokémon to use. What are the rules?"

"This will be three on three, you can switch during battle but I can't. If you don't have three Pokémon I will go down to two on two but nothing less. No time limit and either trainer can forfeit." Explained Brock before tossing his first Pokémon.

The Pokémon that emerged was a dog-like Pokémon with bright blue eyes. It seemed more curious than prepared for battle but Ash wouldn't underestimate Brock's choice but he took out his Pokédex to check.

 _Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon. A Rock type. Rockruff have lived with humans since ancient times. They train themselves by running around._

"He was a gift from my cousin who lives in Alola." Came Brock's input seeing the boy's expression.

Ash shrugged and tossed out Eevee Pokéball and his girl took the field. Pikachu gave a shout of encouragement and so did Ash.

"I'll give you the first move." Offered Brock.

"Agile Ball and keep the movement up."

"Howl then take down."

Eevee utilized the move agility and began charging up a shadow ball as she moved. Rockruff's howl filled the arena before it shot forward in the powerful attack. Eevee's natural speed added to by the move agility made her nearly untouchable by the rock type and blasted rock type with a shadow ball that caused it to yelp in pain before Rockruff growled angrily. Eevee kept up the movement managing to avoid the follow up attacks from the rock type.

"Rock tomb."

"Keep the movement up and shadow ball again."

Rockruff's anger added to its ability, the ground beneath Eevee exploded with rock spears knocking Eevee back who then yelped in pain. Eevee glowed as she used quick attack to move and repositioned behind the rock type and launch another shadow ball. The ghost attack hit the Rockruff between the shoulder blades knocking it to the ground.

"Rock Polish then take down."

"Eevee keep up the movement and bite."

With Rock polish's added speed effects he blasted off with a powerful take down. Eevee used agility in conjunction with quick attack and managed to avoid the initial Take down, she then punished the miss with a shadow ball. Rockruff used another rock tomb catching Eevee off guard causing a good amount of damage but she wasn't going down easily. Eevee managed to shoot a last Shadow Ball that hit Rockruff in the face. Rockruff tried to shake off the pain but succumbed to it's injuries and fell to the ground.

"Both Eevee and Rockruff are unable to battle. Good fight Ash." Praised Brock before tossing out another Pokéball. This time a large Graveler took it's position with Ash following his lead and calling out Blast.

Brock seemed impressed that he had a Dratini but didn't comment, he'd seen stranger and rarer Pokémon challenge him.

"Twister and keep a distance with Dragon rage."

"Rollout."

Graveler tucked its limbs in and started rolling towards the dragon, as it started picking up speed it was sucked into a draconic twister causing damage. Graveler righted itself and started closing the distance at surprising speeds. Blast didn't hesitate to let loose a powerful Dragon Rage knocking Graveler off course causing it to impact a large boulder destroying it in the process. Dust and pebbles exploded from the rock type impacting the boulder making it impossible to see the battlefield.

"Aqua Tail!"

"Magnitude!"

Before Blast could build up enough water energy, the ground of the arena began to violently shake. Ash guessed the attack was about a six maybe a seven. Blast didn't care about the damage and finished charging the aqua tail and smacked the rock across the face getting a groan of pain out of the gravel Pokémon.

Graveler tried to get out of the danger zone but Blast let loose another Dragon Rage knocking Graveler out of the battle. Blast roared out in victory, happy that he could prove his superiority to the dumb rock Pokémon. Ash didn't bother being shocked as he shook his head, Dragon rage was a natural move so it did more than the normal damage and Blast has already proven that he was stronger than the average Pokémon.

"You've done well, that dratini of yours is pretty strong but I think this is where the battle ends." Praised Brock as he released his thirty foot rock snake, the boulder like body was shiny and the Pokémon look well taken care of. Onix let a ear piercing roar nearly causing Ash to cover his ears, Brock stood stoic on his trainer platform. The proud dragon didn't flinch in the face of the massive rock snake, Blast was more interested in if he could take the boulder beast.

"Keep distance and use the new move if it gets too close."

"Onix rock polish then rock tomb."

Blast let out a powerful twister that managed to consume the rock snake, but Onix didn't care as it launch boulders at the dragon. The area shook when the massive boulders slammed into the ground picking large amounts of dust. Despite taking damage from flying shrapnel, Blast didn't flinch and shot towards the massive Pokémon while its tail took on a metallic glow. Under Brock's orders, Onix went to wrap its body around the blue dragon but as it got close Blast smacked it with a perfect Iron Tail.

Onix roared as it suffered from the super effective move but was experienced enough to push through the pain. Coiling then launching it's massive body in the air Onix slammed itself down on top of Blast knocking the dragon out. The rookie trainer grimaced at the attack, a what had to be several thousand pound Pokémon landing on his Dratini had to cause some serious damage.

Ash recalled Blast, "Impressive as always now rest up we'll pick up training starting tomorrow." He praised the unconscious dragon.

Ash pulled out his starter's Pokéball and released Hydro who stared up at the Rock snake without a shred of fear or worry. Brock grunted quietly as he looked upon the impressive Squirtle, water and grass were massive weaknesses for Onix but this wasn't the first time he's faced such odds.

"Hydro remember the plan. Onix is a sturdy one so don't back down until it's down for good."

"Earthquake."

Ash's eyes widened at the powerful earth attack, "Hydro rapid spin away!"

Hydro withdrew into it's shell and spun it's body away from the area towards one of the nearby boulders. Cracks began to form on the arena ground and while Hydro managed to avoid most of the damage he received some damage to his right leg. Once the arena was visible again Hydro started on the strategy that he and Ash worked on.

Filling his chest with water Hydro blasted the rock snake with a compacted and high velocity stream of pressurized water in a mastered Water Gun attack. Onix, despite it's size managed to avoid the attack and went on the offensive, using it's massive size to it's advantage it slammed it's tail down on the boulder that Hydro was standing on. The squirtle withdrew once again and spun under the rock snake away from the damage.

Ash smirked as he watched his plan work. ' _Hydro's main problem was that he wasn't extremely fast. Not his fault, his line isn't known for their blistering speeds. But using rapid spin on the ground Hydro is able to effectively cartwheel away from damage. Although it only works in a straight line._ '

"Now! Use Water gun!"

"Rock Polish and wrap!"

The two Pokémon listened to their masters and used their respective moves. Hydro was obviously quicker than Onix and built the aquatic energy within it's body and released another water gun this time hitting the Rock Snake in the bolder right next to it's face. Onix couldn't avoid the pain this time and roared out.

"Onix Dragon Breath!"

"Finish this Hydro!"

Both Pokémon readied their attacks and released them at the same time. The two beams met and it was obvious which was the stronger of the two. Hydro was overtaken by the draconic energy attack making Ash yell out in worry for his starter.

Brock nodded to himself, that Squirtle packed a serious punch, it almost took out Onix with that powerful water gun. Luckily water gun was still water gun, no matter how perfectly executed and the low level attack was nothing compared to the dragon breath attack. Once the smoke cleared from the attack both trainers looked to see if Squirtle was still able to battle, he wasn't.

For Hydro was no longer a Squirtle, he was a purple turtle with white fluffy tuffs of fur on his head and a light blue fluffy tail curled behind him. He was no longer the foot tall turtle he was now three times larger and twice as heavy. He was now a Wartortle.

"Amazing Hydro! Now finish this with Water Pulse!" Ash had heard his Pokédex notify him of Hydro learning the move after evolving.

Hydro released a pulsing blast of water that hit with enough power that Onix spun round as if it was slapped across the face. Instead of the roar of pain Ash was expecting the rock snake fell to the ground unconscious. The newly evolved Pokémon's added power using a natural move that did double damage mixed with the four times effectiveness, Ash was sure that even a fresh Onix would be out after that hit.

Ash didn't return Hydro and instead ran down to him with Pikachu following excitedly next to him. "That was amazing your so strong Hydro!" "Pika!"

Hydro puffed his chest and received the praise, he was happy that he took out the large rock snake but more so that he managed to evolve.

The Pokémon and rookie trainer both turned to the sound of clapping.

Brock walked towards them with a small smile, "That was an impressive battle. My Onix hasn't been defeated in a while, you've more than earned this badge." He presented the boulder badge to Ash who took it and immediately showed it off to his Pokémon.

"Now Ash," Started Brock, "For beating me you get the badge, two thousand Pokédollars and I'm also giving you this." He handed a small disk that had the number thirty nine on it. "This is the move Rock Tomb, congratulations again Ash." With that Brock walked back towards the other side of the gym and exited through one of the doors.

Ash smiled once again at the badge, it showed that he wasn't slacking off and wasn't wasting his time.

"I'm so proud of you Hydro as well as of Eevee and Blast you three did amazing. Let's get you three over to the Pokémon Center so you can get looked at." Ash recalled Hydro and gave Pikachu a pat as he jumped up onto his shoulder.

"Let's get out of here buddy."

"Pika!"

* * *

He was about two days out from Mt. Moon, so far he wasn't met with any trainers who were interested in battling so he was moving through the area quite fast.

He decided to let his team rest for the past two days and Pidgeotto was back at Professor Oak's. Ash was sad that one of his team members was away from him but understood that it was for the best, he needed to get stronger before he let her be seen too often. With that in mind Ash set down his bag and released all of his Pokémon, Pikachu jumped down to sit next to the others.

"Okay everyone were going to do some hard training today. Hydro I want you to try to learn Scald, it is a water attack that utilizes extremely hot water that can burn targets. Practice for now heating you water gun attack." Ash watched as Hydro walked over to a secluded area to begin working.

Turning to his dragon, "Blast I want you to begin trying to learn ember. It's the easiest fire move to learn and will give you an idea on how to channel fire. I'll be by to help coach you in a moment." Blast, ever the serious dragon slithered away and began working on channeling the fiery energy.

"Pikachu, I want you to work with Eevee on how to use Iron Tail and I want you both to work on swift after that. Pikachu, from our earlier training with Iron tail I know that Eevee will have you doing it in no time." The two Pokémon nodded and started, Eevee took her role as instructor seriously and started barking at Pikachu like a drill sergeant with Pikachu nodding along rapidly.

Ash went and walked over to Blast and popped open his Pokédex to look up the move ember. It said that for a non fire type to learn a fire type move it was best to start with Ember. It said that a Pokémon should first try to channel it's natural aura in it's chest then begin heating it. After a while, if the Pokémon is capable of the fire type energy then it should naturally begin to understand how to produce the fire type energy.

As Ash relayed this to Blast the small serpent payed rapt attention then closed it's eyes in focus as he began putting the human's words to practice. In the days since coming under the human's possession, oh how he hated calling it that, he was happy to say that he wasn't forced to do anything he didn't want to do. While Hydro was a suck up to the Human and Eevee was a total brat he was finding himself enjoying their training sessions. Not to mention he absolutely loved battling. Beating the gravely loser at the gym was the most fun he's ever had. He was beginning to like his time under this human. But the human still had a ways to go before he bother liking him or even learning his name.

Ash nodded happily that Blast was working so diligently, the little dragon was more than happy to focus on becoming more powerful. While he was happy about that he still got the feeling that he wasn't trusted by the dragon completely yet, sadly he understood. Dragon's were proud things and wouldn't submit unless given a good reason. But Ash was nothing if not persistent and would never stop showing Blast that he was willing to push him all the way to his final form and to surpass all his current limits.

Seeing that Blast wasn't going to need any further instruction he walked over to Pikachu and Eevee. If Blast's ability to focus on a task was impressive, then Pikachu's ability to learn under instruction was equally so. Eevee sat by Ash's feet as they watched Pikachu charge up his tail and smack the nearest rock. While it wasn't a full Iron Tail but there was far more power behind that hit than normal meaning that some steel type energy was starting to flow into his tail.

"Great Pikachu! Your already making amazing progress, now that you have the gist of it you can work on it by yourself. For now I want the both of you to start on Swift." Both nodded and sat next to him while Ash looked up the move in his Pokédex.

"Okay you two, it says here that you're supposed to build up normal type energy and while you're doing that picture your opponent as your form the move. Once the attack is ready it should already have the programming to seek out the target. The heatseeking part of Swift should be natural for the attack, but focusing on your target as you create the attack should make it easier by starting out." Instructed Ash, Pikachu and Eevee began trying to form the normal type energy. Both having mastered Quick attack already had a grasp on using the normal type energy.

That was why he wanted them to learn the move, it was a ranged attack that could deal damage and in the case of Pikachu it gave some variety. Eevee had Shadow Ball but that didn't damage normal types so this would give her better coverage. Also the never missing aspect of the attack was very beneficial.

"Pika Pi Pikachu Pi!" Shouted Pikachu at Eevee who barked back, it didn't seem hostile so Ash let the team members bond as they trained.

Walking over to the last of his team and his starter Pokémon, Hydro. While all of his team were talented, Blast had his extreme focus, Pikachu was a fast learner and Eevee didn't quit until she mastered a move. Hydro was the fastest to master a move from scratch, evidence being that he already used a semi-perfect Scald at his tree target.

"Wow Hydro, I was going to give you some tips but I guess you got it." Commented Ash, Hydro smiled up at his trainer.

"War tortle War waarr."

"So you've been prefacing before you evolved, I see." Nodded Ash while Hydro went back to practicing Scald.

Seeing that his team was pretty self sufficient he went over to his bag and started making lunch. He wasn't a cook but putting out bowls with his Pokémon's favorite Pokéblocks was easy enough. He also crushed up some vitamins and rare candies and sprinkled them over the food. Some people thought using the Poké vitamins was like steroids and didn't like using them. Ash however knew that they were perfectly healthy and could help his Pokémon grow stronger faster, since he had only a bit over a year to get his team to elite level he do whatever it took.

Of all the Elite and extremely powerful trainers in the world Bruno of Kanto's Elite four was the biggest advocate of the using Vitamins and the rare one time boosts like Rare Candies, his Machamp being nearly a foot taller than the average certainly showed that the methods were working. Ash didn't think his battle style matched the muscle head of the Elite four but he wouldn't disregard anything that could benefit his teams development.

"Lunch time everyone!" Called Ash who was then nearly bowled over by four Pokémon who dove into their food. "I want to thank all of you for your hard work, we'll train for a couple more hours then turn in for the night."

His Pokémon sounded their approval making Ash smile at the hard workers. "Eevee, you are close to mastering Moonlight, while it's a fairy type move, using it under a full moon which it will be tonight should be enough."

Eevee yipped happily that she should evolve tonight, luckily her evolutions didn't require massive amounts of training but rather weather conditions or evolution stone or states of minds. She was strong and loved her trainer, now she needed to train under the full moon and she'll evolve to Umbreon like her mother.

Ash smiled seeing that his Eevee was happy and went into his own lunch, a humble sandwich, as he thought of what to do next on his journey. Mt. Moon would be a full day of walking if he could navigate the caves effectively.

He was confident that he would get through quickly, and while catching a Clefairy was appealing to him he was confident that he wouldn't see one. He was sure his luck all went into catching Pidgeotto and Clefairy were extremely rare in Mt. Moon and that was the only place they inhabited!

Hours of training later both with major and minor success he put everyone back into their Pokéballs, except for Eevee and Pikachu as one was going to train and the other was Pikachu.

"Okay Eevee, I want you to battle Pikachu. When you get to the point where you're about to collapse use Moonlight, that should do it if not we'll continue training like this every night until you do." Ordered Ash and took his position behind Pikachu who was on all fours at the ready.

Eevee started off with an quick attack hitting Pikachu with the full brunt as he was unable to move in time. Pikachu waited for the follow up and released a powerful thunderbolt. The area smelled of ozone and yellow lightning crackled around Pikachu before it shot towards Eevee at blistering speeds. The brown canine couldn't fully avoid the attack and her tail was hit by the attack. Unlike normal and other elemental attacks, lightning was an all or nothing type, fire and other elements only burned or hurt what it hit but lightning… If lightning hit you it completely effected you and Eevee yelped in pain as the powerful Electric attack hit her.

"Pikachu follow up with quick attack and Eevee go for an Iron tail, close distance with agility! Pikachu follow up with thunder shock rapid fire!" Ash couldn't hold himself back from dictating the battle, he did notice that in an actual battle Pikachu took a little to long to charge up a full Thunderbolt at his current power. They'd definitely work on that in the next training session.

Quick to follow orders Pikachu rushed in with an impressive Quick attack becoming a blur under the techniques effects. As the yellow blur approached Eevee, she pushed energy to her tail and coated it in the metallic shroud. The two Pokémon met with a loud boom with Pikachu's momentum and strength winning the clash but not without taking damage. Eevee however, after suffering a thunderbolt and quick attack was feeling sluggish and injured, not to mention after two physical contacts with Pikachu she was quite paralyzed.

Knowing it was now or never Eevee closed her eyes in concentration. Pikachu and Ash watched hopefully as Eevee utilized Moonlight under the light of the full moon.

The move Moonlight revitalized a Pokémon's stamina and health depending on the weather conditions. Cloudy and it would recover a little over half the users health, a bright strong summer day it was about four fifths. At night, especially under a full moon the effects were doubled. Soaking in the moons rays Eevee felt incredible, she wasn't tired she felt ready to fight, she wasn't hurt she never felt better.

Once the move ended the glow around Eevee didn't stop, rather its intensity picked up and she began to evolve. Ash and Pikachu rushed over, giddy with excitement over the plan working.

Eevee felt her body triple in size and she felt smarter and sharper, her body felt stronger and far tougher like she could take a hyper beam from a Snorlax and shake it off. When the bright light of evolution wore off Eevee was no longer he small brown self but a large sleeker black Umbreon.

"Amazing Umbreon! It worked, wow you look beautiful." Praised Ash, he was instantly jumped on by Umbreon and unlike when she was an Eevee he was sent to the ground with the sixty pound Moonlight Pokémon licking and nuzzling his face.

"Lets head forward towards Mt. Moon, the Pokémon Center by the entrance isn't far from here."

* * *

The Mt. Moon Pokémon center was the same as all the other centers Ash's seen, with the only exception being that there was a sales desk that reminded him of a Poké Mart that he would definitely take a look into later.

The Nurse behind the desk was a dark haired man with a doctors coat and glasses. Ash's eyes were wide as saucers as he approached the nurse that wasn't nurse Joy.

"Uh, is there a nurse Joy here?" Asked an apprehensive Ash.

The man gave a polite smile. "She turned in for the night, and while she is the face of Pokémon Centers she isn't the only Pokémon healer in the world. Now how can I help you?"

Laughing in realization Ash presented the man with three Pokéballs and Pikachu hoped off his shoulder and onto the table. "Could you have a look at my Pokémon, they went through some serious training today. Also my Eevee just evolved into Umbreon can you make sure that she's healthy."

The man smiled and nodded before he carried the tray of Pokémon to the back with a Chansey following him. Ash went over to a booth and sat down to relax, it was late so he'd wait until tomorrow to call him mom to show her Umbreon and to tell Professor Oak that using the move Moonlight at night was perfect for evolving Eevee. He'd likely want to know that it was a pretty sure way to trigger the evolution.

For now he'd look through his Pokédex for Umbreon's information. He'd scan her tomorrow to see if she learnt anything after evolving. On the Pokédex it said that Umbreon were tanks with very high health and defense both physical and special. Mixed with the move Moonlight and natural hardiness she'd make an excellent Pokémon to start battles off with, she could last long enough to see what an opponent was capable of and with her dark attacks could take some down as well.

Also she had a decent move pool, Dark Pulse was a stab move or natural move as they were usually called meaning that the powerful dark attack would do double damage when used by her no matter the opponent. She had the capability to learn psychic which meant that with tutoring and hard work she could manage other psychic type attacks with enough training. Overall with thunder fang the moves she would learn by getting stronger and the ones that she could learn gave her decent coverage.

For now he'd relax and wait for his team and tomorrow begin his journey into Mt. Moon.

* * *

"Oh I just love her so much she is so shiny and healthy looking!" Gushed Delia Ketchum as she looked at Umbreon on the video call, Ash however was under his now much heavier Pokémon who didn't seem to notice as she basked in her trainer's mother praise.

Managing to push Umbreon off of him he picked the phone back up. "Thanks mom, I make sure she stays healthy and give her a brush everyday." Responded Ash while petting Umbreon who was sitting next to him, with her new size she could still see the video screen.

"Oh I can tell Ashy, she's beautiful. Now onto your Pidgeotto, she is very beautiful herself and is work Ponyta. She's been practicing and perfecting all her moves and managed to learn Roost thanks to Professor Oak's Pidgeot that's on the ranch." Said Delia. "Also we ran blood work on her and did several tests and she is perfectly healthy, her abilities seem stronger than average but nothing on the scale of being an immense advantage. Though it is too early to tell as she is still young, by our estimate she is only six years old."

Ash nodded, Pidgeotto seemed in her younger years but the average wild Pidgey usually evolved around five to seven years old. "She seemed pretty strong, I mean she took down a Grotle who's a grass type and an evolved one at that while she was a Pidgey. Well she evolved towards the end but yeah still counts."

"Good news is she can be sent home if you want her back as we're done with the tests we wanted to do." Delia said happily before she turned her gaze to Umbreon. "Now I wouldn't mind looking at her, she would be a wonderful research subject."

Stopping his mother before she could really start he interrupted. "And you will mom, but I still need her. When I come back home you can look at her, I plan to come home after I get my eighth badge which should only be in a few months"

Delia seemed disappointed but understood, her baby didn't want to part with a friend if he could help it. "I understand Ash, so will you want Pidgeotto back?"

"No, I'm going into Mt. Moon today so I'll get her afterwards, she'd hate to be clumped in a cave." Answered Ash before he and his mom said their goodbyes.

Dialing the next number he didn't have to wait long for someone to answer. "Ah Ash it's good to hear from you." Greeted Prof. Oak with a smile. "I would like to thank you again for lending me Pidgeotto."

"It was no problem," Waved off Ash. "I wanted to introduce you to Umbreon, the plan worked perfectly, she battled with Pikachu under the full moon and when she was toward the end of her rope used Moonlight and immediately evolved. I bet if she did that during the day she would have evolved into Sylveon."

While Ash spoke Prof. Oak was typing into a device while nodding along. "That's excellent Ash! I will send these notes over to Professor Sycamore in Kalos, while most of his time now is on Mega Evolution he'll love to hear about this. He may even give you a call to ask you questions."

Ash was excited at the prospect of talking to the worlds foremost mind on mega evolution, maybe Prof. Sycamore would tell him if anyone on his team could mega evolve and how. Just the thought of it filled him with excitement.

"You still there Ash?" Questioned an amused Oak.

Ash shook his head to clear his thoughts, "Sorry Professor, continue." He said while scratching the back of his head.

"It's alright my boy, now is there anything else you needed to talk about?" Samuel Oak asked the rookie trainer.

Ash thought for a second, "Do you know about any tournaments coming up? Also how is Gary doing, I just got my first badge a few days ago where's he at?"

"Well Gary has caught nearly ten Pokémon, he's been rotating through them pretty frequently and he told me your Squirtle beat his Bulbasaur." Praised Oak making the boy blush. "Now as for tournaments I think there is one in Cerulean sponsored by Devon Corp. as that is the first major location of theirs in Kanto. Also if you manage to beat Lt. Surge in Vermillion within the next two months you will win a ticket onto the SS. Anne which will hold a large tournament, the whole thing is sponsored by Silph Co."

"Great! I can't wait!" Cheered Ash, "Also tell Gary that we can have a much better battle next time. Bye Professor I'll get Pidgeotto after I get out of Mt. Moon." Professor Oak nodded and hung up.

"Well you two, ready to get out of here?" Asked Ash.

"Pika!"

"Bre!"

"Great well lets get going." The three of them exited the center and towards the entrance of Mt. Moon.

* * *

Inside the cave was exactly what he'd thought a cave would be, dark and full of Zubat and Golbat. He was sure that he heard some Geodude bouncing around but didn't see any of them. What he knew so far was that there were several basement levels but not many knew if there was a way to climb the mountain.

 _Wait._

Didn't that strange old man in Viridian tell him about entering a moon and he should go up or something? ' _Once you enter the moon head up rather than straight…_ ' That's what he said all right, then something about water and fire and being smart or something but he couldn't remember the rest, that was weeks ago.

Looking around he didn't see and vertical paths. "Umbreon could you give us some more light. Also both of you look for paths leading up."

"Pika."

"Bre Umbreon!" Shouted the Moonlight Pokémon before she lit up her golden rings giving the room more light to work with. Ash thanked her and started looking around.

So far he hadn't found anything out of the ordinary. Pikachu was sniffing around and curiously enough Umbreon was sniffing and scratching the cave wall, Ash disregarded it and continue looking around.

 _Young one._

Ash paused as he thought he heard a voice in his head. After another couple minutes when he didn't hear anything he continued to look around. For some reason he decided to walk towards the south wall where he noticed it began to incline. Calling his Pokémon to him he began to proceed with the light from Umbreon leading the way, the three of them continued onward or upward rather.

The next level up was eerily similar to the ground floor but with no other Pokémon around to bother him. Matter of fact the cave seemed devoid of life other than his small group.

Then the three of them herd a loud bang and the sound of a battle taking place. Looking towards his Pokémon Ash moved towards the noise with Pikachu perched on his shoulder and Umbreon lost her glow and stalked forward almost invisible in the dark cave.

"Take that thing down and blast them with more fire!" Came a vicious snarl from further up. "Take them all, the boss will love them!"

Ash stopped walk and started tip toeing forward. When he rounded the corner the sight in front of him filled him with fury.

Men and women in black jumpsuits with red R's on them were attacking Pokémon viciously with poison types. Further shocking was the group with fire types burning the group of Beldum into a corner before throwing them in cages. Ash felt incredible Fury consume him but knew that he was out numbered by the assholes attacking and caging innocent Pokémon.

 _Young One!_

Ash knew for sure that he heard a voice in his head and this time Pikachu heard it as well as both his ears spiked up into the air. Another compelling thought popped into his head and he snuck away and toward another upward level, this one was more narrow and dark causing Umbreon to reignite her glowing rings.

The third level was much smaller than the one before and unlike the path actually held light that was shining through holes in the roof that kept the room well lit. Ash would have looked around the room when he felt a presence behind him.

From the shadow of the cave came a huge figure, when it hit the light Ash's jaw fell to the ground. A Metagross levitated toward him with it's psychic power, however most shocking was his coloration. Not only was this a rare Pokémon that usually stayed near Hoenn but it was Shiny. The steel body was silver instead of the blue normal Metagross had and the normal silver was gold.

' _Thank you for coming young one. I am in need of your assistance._ '

"So that was your voice!" "Pika!" "Bre!"

' _Yes, I need you to help remove the cages our young ones are being held in. I would be able to destroy the humans but those cages are special and my power would not safely destroy them without killing the Beldum._ '

Understanding the task Ash nodded, "I get it, we'll help you save them for sure!" "Pikachu!" "Umbreon!" The three of them said toward the massive and likely very powerful Metagross.

Touching it's four massive limbs to the ground Metagross readied itself. ' _This will be done quick, you will initiate the attack and I will teleport in once you start. Free the Beldum and they will help assist you against the Poison ones. I will assist you with the rest._ '

"Understood." Saluted Ash with his two Pokémon following suit. The three of them walked towards the exit but before he began walking down he released Hydro and Blast and quickly told them what was happening.

"Wartortle War!" "Dra Tini!" Both seemed less than pleased with the Pokémon's treatment one floor below.

"I want Hydro and Blast front and center and Umbreon in the shadows attacking, Pikachu your coming with me to free the Pokémon. Now lets go, quietly." Ordered Ash letting Umbreon lead the way.

* * *

Petrel wasn't hating his job today. He and his crew stormed Mt. Moon under the bosses orders to take the recently discovered Metagross hive. Their secret weapon was able to sense them in the mountain giving them the drop on a large group of Pseudo legendaries with unpredictable migration patterns.

His boys managed not to screw up the raid and he himself caught a Metang for his personal team. He sent word to the boss that they would be done in the next couple of hours then they will go down to the secret bottom floor to take the moon stone and Clefairy. Unfortunately there weren't any fully evolved Pokémon here, Metang was the strongest here by far as Beldum could only use Take Down.

Their Magmar and Houndoom make quick work of the Steel types. So far it has been one of the few operations that he's lead that hasn't turned into a mess, nothing could go wrong today!

 _Bang!_

' _Dammit!_ ' Mentally groaned Petrel as he released his Crobat. The Poison flying type waited for it's orders.

Across the room Ash let his team loose. The front runner was Blast who released a perfect Thunderbolt toward the golbat and Koffing. Hydro was next to him and was scalding anything in range. In the shadows of the room Umbreon waited until the right opportunity before pouncing and using bite to take down her prey.

Ash and Pikachu made it to the cages. "Don't worry all of you, we'll get you out right now." Ash hear the Beldum hum in appreciation

 _Thank you._

Shaking his head at the telepathic Pokémon that stared at him blankly. "Iron tail buddy get that lock."

"Pika!" The yellow rodent Pokémon charged it's tail with power and slammed it down on the lock breaking it in half.

The Steel types filed out of the cage all humming angrily. "I need you all to take down the poison type I will take the fire types." Said Ash when he finished speaking a huge explosion happened over by the fire type Pokémon that were rushing toward him.

The Beldum all rushed into the battlefield and some of them in the excitement evolved into Metang giving them more power to work with.

In the middle of the explosion across the room was the Shiny Metagross that just used Giga Impact. Both front legs charged up and slammed into two Magmar blasting them across the room. All five Houndoom released a Flamethrower towards the Metagross hoping to use it's weakness to take it down. A hum filled the room and the world seemed to bend around Metagross. The powerful wall of fire seemed to stop mid air and shrink until it ceased to exist before Metagross leaving it completely un harmed.

The hum sounded again and the fire type Pokémon were all lifted off the ground and the mouth of Metagross charged a very dense looking Hyper Beam. The second the attack charged the beam was released and once again the world seemed to warp and the beam was ripped into several parts all hitting a fire type in the chest. Even with the powerful attack landing they didn't even move a centimeter as Metagross's psychic abilities held them perfectly still.

Looking around Ash noticed that most of the men and women were unconscious and the Poison types were taken out by the Metang and Beldum, all of which were immune to the Poison attacks. Pikachu had jumped down from his shoulder and helped with the raid while staying close to make sure that no Pokémon attacked Ash while he was alone.

Lightning tore through the air towards the enemy Pokémon, Blast was firing Dragon Rage left and right taking out the near endless supply of Zubat and Golbat, Ash was sure that most of them at this point were just wild that were attacking to be apart of the war zone. Hydro let loose Water Pulse after Water Pulse right next to Blast who would electrify the water attack adding to the offensive power when he had the chance.

While Ash couldn't see Umbreon in the dark cave he could tell that she was out there taking down her prey like a predator in the wild hunting it's dinner.

"You Bastard!" Came the furious shout from one of the few people still conscious on the enemy side. The man wore the same jumpsuit as the rest but he had a gold trim around his red R marking him as a leader Ash supposed.

Ash turned to him with an angry expression on his face. "Who are you people? And why were attacking these Pokémon!" While attacking Pokémon wasn't bad the way they were doing it could be called poaching or hunting, both very punishable by the police.

The man calmed his anger and swaggered closer to Ash completely unthreatened, not worried in the slightest. "We are Team ROCKET!" He shouted proudly!

Ash and his Pokémon now gathered together all looked to one another in confusion. "I don't know what that is but we're going to stop you!" Promised Ash to the man who rolled his eyes.

"How do you not know who we are?" The man muttered before returning to his confident smirk and condescending tone. "Even if you have that freak Metagross helping you this situation is still in my favor. I came here prepared for Metagross which means I'm more than prepared for the freak and your little beasts."

Ash wasn't the only one angry by the man's words, his Pokémon all prepared to attack but before they could he tossed out three Pokéballs.

The first was a large lava and fire covered Pokémon that was five foot tall, instead of arms it had two cannons. Ash recognized the Pokémon as Magmortar, a fire type Pokémon so powerful that they lived within volcanoes.

The second was a very powerful and large Houndoom and unlike the others that were apart of the battle so far this, one seemed calm and ready to attack at the slightest movement.

The last Pokémon was a surprise to him, luckily he recognized it as it was one of the few Pokémon that he's seen in person from a different region. It was a large Bipedal cat-like Pokémon that had red and black fur with a belt made of fire. The Pokémon was Incineroar, the final evolution of the Alolan starter Litten. What Ash knew about it was that it was a Fire-Dark type meaning it was the Metagross line's worst match up, much like Houndoom.

"Looks like I got here just in time." A man's voice came from the other side of the room behind the only standing team Rocket member.

Ash looked to the new arrival, he was average height and looked to be in his twenties. He had on a black tuxedo with a red tie, his cuffs were made of crown-like steel bands and he wore several silver rings. Most notable was a Metagross walking behind him who looked very powerful and quite angry.

The Team Rocket man must have recognized him as he grunted angrily before sending Incineroar toward him. "You take down that Metagross, Houndoom and Magmortar will take down the freak one."

"Not if I can help it! Hydro use Water Pulse! Blast, Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Shouted Ash to his Pokémon who jumped into the fight without hesitation.

The two Pokémon on the opposite side of the room met the incoming barrage with two matching Flamethrowers that increased the rooms temperature several times over. Ash's Pokémon's attacks were destroyed instantly despite one having the type advantage and the others being complementary to said attack. Not only were the attacks vaporized but continued toward him and his Pokémon. Hydro, Blast and Pikachu all yelled out in agony as they were burned severely.

Right as the fire was going to hit Ash a blue Pokémon popped up in front of him and managed to reflect the attack. Ash looked thankfully at the Metang that saved his life and reached out to pat the steel type.

"Thanks Metang I owe you."

' _No it is I who owe you._ '

As the voice filled his head Ash turned to the enormous shiny Metagross that levitated next to him. The two fire types despite having a major type advantage were dispatched without a moments pause. The Magmortar was hit by a focus blast that launched it through the cave wall out of the mountain and the Houndoom was repeatably bashed against the walls with psychic.

Ash stood still as the immensely powerful Metagross took down the enemy Pokémon that made his look like babies in comparison. He couldn't believe that there was such a difference in power between him and the criminal trainer.

The rookie was broken from his thoughts when the Alolan Pokémon flew past him landing on the ground unconscious. Seeing that the criminals trump cards were all defeated Ash looked to see what he'd do next.

The man from earlier calmly walked forward with the Metagross he came with walking next to him protectively. "What will you do now Petrel?" He asked the criminal who was now sweating.

The man turned to Ash to see that he was flanked by a Metang and the freak shiny Metagross and all the other Metang and Beldum were quickly surrounding him. Seeing that he was defeated he closed his eyes and screamed out. "We lost get us out of here now!" Right as he finished speaking all the Pokémon and criminals were gone in a teleportation.

Ash looked around completely confused but then crouched down to his Pokémon and recalled them to spare them from any more pain. The Pokéball stasis would allow them to rest without pain and would make it easier for the potions he had to heal them. Ash even recalled Pikachu as he didn't want his little buddy to suffer any pain if he could help it and it's burns didn't look great.

As he recalled his team he felt a large Pokémon rub his leg and looked to see that it was Umbreon who nuzzled her head on his leg. Ash patted his Pokémon's head and thanked her for her work.

The well dressed man came forward, his Pokémon still trailing behind him. "That was fine work rookie!" He praised.

Ash smiled slightly but voiced his main question. "Who are you?"

Chuckling the man extended his hand. "My name is Steven Stone and it is nice to meet you Ash Ketchum, and before you ask the Metagross behind you told me your name."

Ash numbly shook the man's hand as he realized that this was a former Champion standing in front of him. He had so many questions and he would have asked them if he wasn't beaten to the punch by said champion.

"I want to thank you for stepping in while I was on my way. The Metagross behind you told mine telepathically what was happening here and we had a League Alakazam teleport me to Mt. Moon and I ran the rest of the way. So thanks for taking most of them down while I was en route. You did far more than we should ask of a rookie no matter how promising he is." Steven said while eyeing the rookie up and down trying to measure the teen.

Ash blushed at the praise and rubbed his neck. "Thanks, uh Sir. But I just did what was right and if I were to be honest without this Metagross I would have lost pretty quick and likely be dead without this Metang." The teen reached out again and patted the Metang who let out a hum in reply.

Steven nodded but didn't lose his smile. "Well that is likely true it still takes a special person to run in to a hopeless situation to do the right thing."

The former champion looked at the shiny Metagross with a serious look. "I apologize for those humans they are evil people who will be punished. Your hive will be safe but it might be best for you all to relocate."

' _You are right Stone, we have lingered here for too long. I am not one to stay in a single nest for more than a few weeks. We will return to Hoenn for a few a while to meet with the rest of us._ '

Ash despite not being a part of the conversation could hear it clearly. He just kept patting the closest Metang who he was sure was the one to save him.

"Well I apologize again, also the Stone plantation is always open to you should you wish to stay for a while. We ourselves house dozens of Beldum and Metang, you and your hive are more than welcome." Said Steven with a nod to himself, his family were probably the only ones in the world who were able to house so many of their species comfortably.

' _That is what we must do. We will leave soon, all that is needed is for the remaining Beldum to recover._ ' The Shiny Metagross told them before turning to Ash. ' _I would like to thank you once again, I wish you luck on your journeys to come._ ' With that Metagross walked off toward the Beldum.

"You did a good thing here, and I would like to escort you to the Pokémon center in Cerulean to make sure your Pokémon are alright. If those other Pokémon were as strong as that Incineroar then they will need to be checked." Steven said to the rookie who nodded gratefully.

Ash was about to respond when he heard the familiar hum from the Metagross and his fellow species. The Pokémon began to glow slightly before they were gone, Ash turned to Steven with a questioning look.

Steven seeing the look he turned to his fellow trainer to explain what happened. "That Metagross is old, very old. It is not the first time I've met it. Unlike other Pokémon, Metagross share a sort of hive mind which is why it was able to tell my Metagross that they were in trouble." He explained to Ash but then he spotted something behind them and tapped Ash's shoulder and pointed behind him.

Ash turned and smirked at the sight, in front of them looking ready to battle was the same Metang that saved him from the fire blast from earlier.

Turning to Umbreon, "You think you can do one more battle?" He asked the Moonlight Pokémon who jumped in front of him, golden rings glowing in preparation for combat. Steven stood off to the side hoping to get a feel for Ash and his battle style.

"Umbreon, agility then Shadow Ball!"

Both Metang and Umbreon shot off into battle, the steel type's arms lit up and began attacking in a barrage of metal claws. Luckily Umbreon was the faster with agility and managed to maneuver for enough time to use a shadow ball that hit the Metang's body. Umbreon kept up the pace but was caught by a metal claw throwing her back. Metang pushed the attack and it's eye lit up to use Confusion but Umbreon stood up unaffected.

"Your immune to psychic type attacks! Use another Shadow Ball and finish with Pursuit!"

Metang noticed that it's psychic attacks wouldn't work and readied Metal Claw again. Umbreon used agility once again to avoid the powerful swings while preparing shadow ball. Once Metang swung again she shot under the Pokémon and blasted a Shadow Ball up at the steel type's body. With the attack landing and having another opening Umbreon used Pursuit.

The super effective natural move was several times stronger against Metang making it crash to the ground unable to continue fighting. Umbreon howled in triumph and patted over to Ash who rubbed her head affectionately.

Taking out a Pokéball he tossed it over at the Metang which was captured immediately. Pulling out his Pokédex he scanned the new Pokémon.

 _Metang, the Iron Claw Pokémon. Metang is the evolved form of Beldum. Its highly developed intellect and strong magnetic force allow it to create powerful psychic energy._

 _Known Moves - Take Down, Metal Claw and Confusion. Ability - Clear Body._

Ash held up the Pokéball and whooped in happiness. His team was getting stronger by the day and with Metang it was getting some real power houses. He couldn't wait to have Blast and Metang battle each other when both of them had more moves, both of them held immense potential.

"Congratulations, I will tell you from experience that the Metagross line is very powerful. From what your Pokédex said it must have just evolved. They learn metal claw and confusion by evolving and it seemed pretty weak during it's battle with your Umbreon." Steven patted his Metagross and pulled out a blue Pokéball.

"Lets get out of here Ash." Said Steven as he threw the ball and released an Alakazam that stared at them with a bored expression.

' _How may I assist you former champion._ '

Ash winced at the monotone voice in his head. It was better than the metal growl of the Metagross but he still wasn't used to having a voice in his head that wasn't his own.

"To the Cerulean City Pokémon Center please." Answered Steven as he returned his Metagross. "Return your Umbreon Ash and we'll leave."

Listening to the Champion Ash returned his Umbreon and walked closer to the Alakazam.

"Don't worry it'll be over—"

The world distorted and Ash watched as his entire reality warped in on itself and in the next instant he was standing right outside of a Pokémon center.

"—before you know it and we're here." Steven said with a chuckle.

Ash shook his head, "Thank you Alakazam I really need to get my Pokémon looked at." The boy said before running to the Nurse Joy that was behind the desk. Steven returned the League Pokémon and followed Ash into the center.

* * *

"It is un fortunate that we only managed to capture three Metang and four Beldum but that is enough for each Executive at least to have one. I will keep the Beldum to assure they evolve soon." Giovanni said to Petrel on the video call.

The Team Rocket Executive nodded and hung up the call. Giovanni clenched his fist several times, each time he shook with more and more anger. In a blur he slammed his fist down on the desk causing his monitors to fall to the ground and a crack to form on the wood.

' _I knew that it would be risky to attack a Metagross Hive but to think a former champion would show up! Apparently this gives merit to the research papers that hypothesized that Metagross share a sort of hive mind that they could call that man to assist them that quickly._ ' Giovanni thought trying to break down the situation logically.

Though the way Petrel escaped was going to be a problem. ' _I gave him permission to escape in a situation should it turn out like it did but having Mewtwo do it in front of two people, one of which being a champion is a problem. We'll have to have Mewtwo lay low, instead of having him raid the boat, I'll have Ariana do it she doesn't have enough to do at the moment as it is._ '

So far his organization managed to law low the past few years but this put them on the map for sure. They'll have to be careful in the Kanto Region for the time being, until Mewtwo was more under control.

They had work to do. A lot of work to do.

* * *

 _Authors Notes_

Okay chapter two done! Another 11k chapter that I'm happy with, I read through it again to check for spelling and grammar errors but if you see any let me know I can't catch them all! Haha… sorry.

So yeah we had a badge earned some Pokémon evolve and a raid stopped Woo an exciting world we live in! Also any questions you all have I will answer below but since the first chapter didn't have any really I won't have any this time.

Till Next time Please REVIEW and FAV/Follow

Current Team.

Hydro/Wartortle (Male)

Blast/Dratini (Male)

Umbreon (Female)

Pikachu (Male)

Metang (Genderless)

Pidgeotto (Shiny) (Female) (At Oak's Ranch)


	3. The Water City

_World of Pokémon #3_

 _Silph Co., the largest Conglomerate on Earth. They were responsible for the very first Pokéball, the ones that didn't always work and would rival the size of car trunks. Many, many years later they were responsible for a variety of inventions that revolutionized the way people and Pokémon live._

 _With the miraculous invention of Potions and different more potent versions of Pokéballs increased their Billions to trillions. The only company in the world that could rival them was the Devon Corporation, who were responsible for the Pokémon fossil revival technology as well as a variety of different Pokéballs such as the dive ball and lure ball._

 _Other companies have rose throughout the decades that have tried to stand on their levels but never came close and were subsequently bought out by either company keeping their monopoly on most of the worlds products._

 _No one, other than Mr. Goodshow, had the political power as the CEO's of Silph Co. and the Devon Corp._

* * *

Ash sipped his water as he sat in a booth at the Pokémon center while waiting for an update on his team. He was rattled from the event in the mountain, he was outclassed and relied on a literal legendary Metagross and a stray Champion to save him. He was more worried however about his Pokémon who were hit by the incredibly powerful Flamethrowers.

' _They far outclassed my entire team, not only did Hydro's water completely evaporate but they were instantly taken out. Training will be even more intense from here on out, otherwise something like this could happen again._ ' He mentally swore as he took another sip of his water. So entranced with his thoughts he didn't see someone approach.

"Food for your thoughts?" Ash looked up to see Steven holding two plates with sandwiches on them.

Thanking the former champion Ash started eating the food with gusto. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he took the first bite, not to mention he hadn't ate since this morning and it was already two.

"You did well," Said Steven suddenly. "I thought I should reiterate that. The man in charge back there was an executive in the Rocket organization. There are only four of them and they are the strongest trainers we've seen that are employed in the organization. Don't think that because he beat you that it was because you are weak. If Team Rocket didn't have Elite trainers in their employ then they wouldn't be a threat after all."

Ash couldn't fault Steven's logic, he had only started his journey two months ago and while he has made progress he wasn't near Elite level yet, no where close as it seemed from the confrontation in the mountain.

"But I should congratulate you, not many get to meet that Metagross." Steven said strangely. "It has only been seen, to my knowledge four times; when my family first started their Beldum plantation sixty years ago. When I was traveling on my first journey and another when I became champion and then now. The power of that Metagross is off the charts, he is more powerful than mine and its my strongest Pokémon."

Ash reeled back. "Your best Pokémon is weaker than a wild Metagross?" He asked in shock, it was well documented that Pokémon in the wild usually plateaued after a while. No matter their genealogy.

Steven nodded easily as he chewed his food. "Oh yeah, that thing is easily on par with legendary Pokémon, it is the oldest Metagross in the world. I only know that because when I first met it, it saved me from a Darkrai that went wild and put it down. Despite it having a type disadvantage with a legendary Pokémon. Metagross also don't really age normally so unless they're killed they can live for a very long time, that thing could be centuries old." Shrugged Steven.

Again Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I didn't think non-Legendary Pokémon could become that strong, especially in the wild. But if it is that old I guess I could believe that."

"Yup, but that isn't to say my Pokémon are weak. My Metagross has some pretty sweet moves!" Steven joked getting a laugh out of Ash.

' _I've seen some of those sweet moves in battles the PLN broadcasted in the years when he was champion. I bet his Metagross is at least the second strongest in the world._ ' Thought Ash, that thing took down fully evolved fire types without much effort. Not something steel types could do easily or should do for that matter.

"I hope I can raise Metang to that level one day." Said Ash with a smirk toward the Steel Master.

Steven returned the gesture and leaned forward. "You have a powerful team already, a Dratini and a Metang. I would recommend buying some moves from Silph Co. I'll even take you so you can use my Champion discount, think of it as a thank you for helping with the Mt. Moon incident."

"Really?!" Steven nodded. "Thank you so much and it was no problem, like I said it was the right thing to do." Said Ash again. Eager to go to the Silph Co. local shop, Ash wolfed down the rest of his food and stood up. All depression regarding his team forgotten at the prospect of getting them new moves.

Steven easily followed his lead with a laugh and finished off his meal. "Well lets go, I have a few suggestions in mind." Steven told the rookie getting a mental sequel out of Ash, it must have been visible on his face as Steven started laughing.

* * *

The local Silph Co. outlet store was a large building that was both a lab and store. The ground level had all the Silph products that a person could want and the floors above was where the labs and research departments were. Naturally only the first floor was available to the average person and non employee.

Ash and Steven arrived at the store and began looking around, Ash immediately walked over to an empty terminal that he could pick the technical machines he wanted.

"I would propose Ice Beam and Dark Pulse and maybe Flamethrower. With my discount they won't be too expensive for you." Suggested Steven. "Also Psychic and some Punch attacks. Then whatever you think is best. Physical and Special attacks have separate defenses so it's good to have a variety."

Ash thumbed through the terminal, he had picked the permanent TM's for Ice Beam and Flamethrower and the one time use Dark Pulse and Psychic. On Steven's recommendation he also got Brick Break, while not an elemental punching move it was a fighting type attack that Hydro could use. There were other attacks that he wanted but for now this would be more than enough. Not to mention if he added all of them together it was more than twelve thousand Pokédollars after the discount which was three thousand less than what he currently had on him. Thankfully he already had a TM case and Technical Machine to use the moves.

Steven Stone nodded at the choices, he also slid a sleek black box on top of the pile making Ash turn to him. "It's a gift." Ash was about to protest but Steven stopped him with a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Winning a League tournament comes with a Pokédollar prize of at least five hundred thousand. I've not only won several but was a former champion, I'm not counting pennies." Chuckled Steven, he didn't mention that his family was pretty well off even before he became a champion. A Beldum farm, only of its kind, brought lots of money. Selling Pseudo Legendaries was a sellers market after all.

Ash nodded thankfully and payed for his TMs. Steven handed him the black box and gestured for him to open it. Inside was a Pokégear, it said it was model 4.0, Ash never heard of the newest model so it must be a prototype since Silph loved to advertise their product even before release to build hype and preorders.

"I may have asked for the latest model and they gave you that one, don't worry I got one too!" Laughed Steven, being a Champion, former or otherwise came with several benefits.

"Now, hand me your Pokédex and follow me to the terminal." Steven sat down at the computer and plugged in both devises. "I'm transferring over all your Pokédex's data and trainer info to the Pokégear. The newest model serves as a Pokédex as well if it has the chip and yours does. Other uses are a map that is hooked to the Silph Co. Satellites, an inter-Regional phone, a radio and it tells you the status off all your Pokémon that are in your trainer box and on your person if they're in their Pokéball. Now the reason this one is special is the addition to the back, you put a Pokéball to it and it can transfer your Pokéball to your sponsor and receive transfers from said sponsor. You won't have to go to a center to transfer your Pokémon anymore!" Finishing the data transfer Steven handed the devise back to Ash.

"I also put my Pokégear number in there. When your Metang evolves give me a ring, I'd love to have a battle with you. See you around Ash!" Steven gave him a thumbs up and was gone.

Ash stood still trying to wrap his head around the turn of events. He was sure that the Pokégear in his hands cost upwards of thirty thousand dollars and he was given it as a gift!

Adding in his home number as well as Professor Oak's before he forgot Ash walked back to the Pokémon Center to see his Pokémon's status. It was time that he got Pidgeotto back too, she's been gone for too long.

* * *

"Please wait for a moment Mr. Ketchum." Nurse Joy said politely before she walked off, Ash waited nervously for what could be severe burn damage or worse. He didn't want to think about worse.

Nurse Joy returned with his Pokéballs and handed them over. "Metang and Umbreon are fine, they didn't suffer much more than fatigue." Ash nodded impatiently he already knew that. "Now Dratini, and Wartortle are more or less fine both are pretty hardy despite Dratini not having the best defenses. Pikachu was hurt pretty bad, no scars or permanent damage since you put it into its Pokéball so quick and used a burn heal but I want you to let it rest."

Ash nodded numbly and asked for a room key, after receiving it he walked towards the stairs to go to the trainer rooms. Ash wanted to talk with his Pokémon to make sure they were alright.

The room was the same as any other in any other Pokémon Center- a bed, a dresser and small bathroom. Medium sized and since his Pokémon were still relatively small could all fit. Ash tossed out all of his Pokémon who popped up in the room with Pikachu emerging on his bed.

Dratini slithered to a corner and curled up and laid its head down while Hydro sat with his back against the wall while looking at his fellow Pokémon and trainer. Metang hummed and looked around the room curiously. Umbreon jumped up on the bed and laid her head on Ash's lap, purring when Ash started petting her. Pikachu sat next to him on the bed and relaxed when Ash started rubbing his head.

"I'm sorry." Said Ash getting shocked looks from his team. "I put you in a situation you weren't ready for and you all could have been seriously hurt, I won't be so stupid again!" The Pokémon looked at him quietly for a moment.

"Draaaa Draa tini." Surprisingly Blast was the first of his team to speak and seemed angry at his words. The dragon slithered up to him and stared at him fiercely.

Ash raised his hands in the air making Umbreon glare at the dragon for taking her trainers hand from her. "I'm not calling you weak, but we've only been training together for a few weeks and that guy was one of the strongest in his organization."

Hydro stood up, "War War tortle." Wartortle looked down at the ground not meeting his eyes.

Trying to figure out what his starter was saying Ash stared at him, "No! Don't blame yourself, those Pokémon have years of experience and training on us. Hydro you did your very best and I couldn't be more proud. But I promise that we will be training much harder from now on." He promised all of them firmly.

The Pokémon were happy to hear that and cried out to show the fact. Blast nodded to his trainer and went back lay down in his corner and Hydro sat down against the bed and drifted off to sleep. Metang was still floating around the room enjoying the quiet atmosphere.

Ash patted Pikachu getting the electric type to look up at him. "I'm sorry you were hurt by the fire Pokémon, but you should know that the only reason your injuries were healed so well was because of your Pokéball."

Pikachu looked at him shocked getting Ash to elaborate. "A Pokéball puts a Pokémon in a sort of stasis and relaxed mindset letting their injuries stay in their current state giving a trainer time to have them healed without the wounds getting worse. Also, most Pokémon find their ball more comfortable most of the time than walking around or sleeping on the ground."

While Ash was talking to Pikachu, Umbreon kept nudging Ash's hand with her head trying to get more attention. She didn't stop until Ash started petting her and laid back down on his lap content.

Pikachu jumped up to Ash's shoulder to nuzzle his cheek before laying down on a pillow. Ash fell back down on the bed and chuckled when Umbreon nestled next to him, Ash may have wanted to sleep in the bed by himself but he couldn't bring himself to make Umbreon move.

* * *

Professor Oak answered a call from a strange number with a raised eyebrow. But then seeing the face of Ash he smiled. "Ash my boy! What number are you calling me from, it isn't one from a Pokémon Center?"

Ash grinned, "This is my new Pokégear! I got it as a gift after helping with an incident in Mt. Moon the other day. When I showed up I was telepathically called by a wild Metagross that had brought its hive to the mountain for a while. The Metagross called me to help it free the other members of its hive since it was too powerful to do it without killing his hive mates. That's not an understatement by the way, Steven says that the Metagross was likely the strongest one in the world!"

"Steven?" Questioned Oak, he wouldn't take the world of another rookie on a Metagross's power when all of them were strong, that's what made them pseudo-legendaries. Not to mention the strangeness of Metagross migrating this far from their native region. But to be fair their migration patterns were unknown since they were so rare in the wild.

Ash saw his error and explained, "Steven Stone, he showed up as well. Apparently the wild Metagross told his what was happening." The Professors eyes widened, what was a former champion doing here? Also, a steel type master and Metagross trainer could correctly estimate the power of the Pokémon giving merit to his claims. How fascinating that a wild Pokémon could have such power!

"Anyway these jerks were attacking the Beldum and Metang and putting them in cages. It was the guys you told me to avoid, Team Rocket." Ash said sheepishly.

"Ash! Tell me you didn't get mixed up in a Team Rocket attack, they are very dangerous people!" Said a very serious Oak both angry and worried about the rookie.

Ash rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah, well no one was around and I had the shiny extremely powerful Metagross as back up! Let me tell you, I have never seen psychic powers so strong, it removed the oxogen from a multiple Pokémon Flamethrower barrage in an instant and split a Hyper Beam into several beams to take them out simultaneously! It was the coolest thing I've ever seen! I didn't even know such a thing was possible!"

Oak didn't bother to interrupt but was making a note to call Steven himself to get a better understanding of the events. "Also," Continued Ash. "After the whole fiasco I battled and captured a freshly evolved Metang!" Ash held up the Pokéball to the camera letting Oak see.

That wasn't surprising to the Professor, Ash must have forgotten that he could see what Pokémon he captured since he was the boy's sponsor. It was strange to the professor that Ash caught a Hoenn Pokémon in Kanto and a notoriously rare one at that but planned on waiting for Ash to call to tell him about it.

"But the reason I called was to tell you I have a Pokégear that can transfer Pokémon and that this was my number." Finished Ash.

Oak nodded and started typing into his terminal, "I have Pidgeotto right here, I'm guessing you want her back?" Ash nodded happily and Oak set the ball on the devise and sent it over.

Ash caught the Pokéball as it popped into reality in front of him. Smiling he placed his final team member on his belt and was happy that he had a full six Pokémon team.

"Thank you professor, if you need to call me you have the number for my Pokégear." Ash said his goodbyes and hung up before dialing another number. He was sure his mother would be over the moon now that he had a way to be contacted at any time. She wanted him to have an Xtransceiver but they were to expensive to buy in Kanto since the company that sold them was in Unova.

His Pokégear let out a ring as the call went unanswered, after a minute of waiting his mom answered. "This is Delia Ketchum?" She clearly didn't recognize the number, not that she should have.

"It's me mom! A friend gave me a Pokégear!" Greeted Ash with a grin on his face.

Delia smiled at the sight of her son. "Oh Ashy that is so great! Now you can call me everyday!" She cheered making him wince.

"Well maybe not everyday." Muttered Ash now nervous. "But I will check in far more frequently than the two times we spoke since I began my journey two months ago." He promised.

Delia seemed pacified, "Ok, well I will save your number, and tell your friend that I said thank you." With nothing left to speak about they said their goodbyes and hung up.

With everything settled Ash actually found himself ahead of schedule. Mt. Moon should have taken a full day at the best and from Mt. Moon to Cerulean was three to five days depending on the pace.

With that in mind Ash decided to ask about the tournament that Professor Oak told him about. Then he would give his team the TMs he bought and train for a bit.

Walking up to Nurse Joy he waited until she had a chance to answer his question. The polite face of the Pokémon Center turned to him with a kind smile. "How may I help you Mr. Ketchum?"

"I would like to ask about the up coming tournament, Professor Oak said that the Devon Corp. was sponsoring one."

Joy nodded and pulled out a flyer. "Yes, the tournament will be a week from tomorrow, here is the flyer. Would you like to sign up? The requirement is at least two badges but no more than four and a Six Pokémon team."

Hearing that Ash nodded, "Yes, I'm going to battle the gym tomorrow and will sign up after I get the badge." Thanking her for her help he walked off while looking at the flyer.

The Devon Corp. Cerulean tournament would be one on one battles until the semi-finals which would be three on three then the final which would be six on six. The prize was money of course and a large sum if the multiple dollar signs were any indication and a mystery Pokémon from the Corporations home region of Hoenn. That was the most exciting prize to Ash, a Hoenn Pokémon wasn't something you could usually find here, the irony was not lost on him that he managed to catch one of the rarest Hoenn Pokémon in Kanto earlier this week.

Overall Ash had to win this tournament, he wanted the Pokémon, whatever it was and he needed the money for more TMs and better Pokéballs. Speaking of he needed to buy some more as he used his last one on Metang.

* * *

Near the large river that surrounded the city of Cerulean and secluded from anyone else, he knew this for sure since he walked for about two hours to avoid other trainers, Ash set out his things to get ready to train. He would be giving his Pokémon their new moves then work on mastering them and working on strategies.

Pikachu hopped down from his shoulder and absently ate a berry. First up he loaded Dark Pulse into his TM gadget and inserted Umbreon's Pokéball, setting everything to the appropriate setting he initiated the device.

The disk began picking up speed until it started shaking then the device clicked and the disk cracked. Seeing that it was done Ash released Umbreon who looked around confused.

"Umbreon use Dark Pulse." Ordered Ash while pointing to the water next to their spot.

The Moonlight Pokémon turned toward the water and blasted a pitch black beam of energy toward the water causing it to explode. The resulting wave of water almost soaked Ash and it would have had he not backed up.

"That was great Umbreon, for now I want you to practice building up the power for the move. You were a little slow and could be stronger." Ordered Ash and his Umbreon walked off to start practicing. Next up, Ash put the move Psychic in and pulled out Metang's Pokéball and repeated the process.

Releasing Metang from his ball the steel type waited for its order. "Use Psychic on the water." With the order in mind, Metang utilized it's psychic abilities to pick up the water and began levitating streams through the air.

"Excellent Metang! I want you to practice manipulating water into shapes and work on increasing your speed, the move Agility shouldn't take long for you to learn." Metang hummed and floated over toward the water.

Next was Ice Beam, first up was Hydro. After using the devise, instead of releasing Hydro he put Blast's ball in and reinitiated the process before removing the Ice Beam disk. Adding the disk for Flamethrower he used the device on Blast's ball teaching him the second attack and releasing the dragon Pokémon.

"Blast, I just used a device to teach you two new moves. First I want you to use Ice Beam on the water over there." Ordered Ash pointing to the body of water that Metang was practicing by.

Blast charged up the attack and released a white colored beam of energy that froze the water instantly. The six foot dragon let out a horn like roar at his new power.

"Now use Flamethrower on the ice!"

The dragon built up the fiery energy in his core and let out a torrent of extremely hot and powerful flames in a compact stream toward the ice. The ice began to steam before it melted completely and started to boil under the heat of the attack.

"Great Blast! I want you to practice your moves to make sure that you can use them perfectly and be able to quickly use them. Don't forget to practice Thunderbolt, your were sluggish in the cave." Blast turned away at the truthful admonish but went out to practice his moves by himself.

Putting the last move he bought into the machine he used it to teach Hydro Brick Break and then tossed the broken disk away and released Hydro. Wartortle stood in front of him confidently and awaited his trainers orders.

"Show me Ice beam then brick break!"

Excited himself at the new moves, Hydro charged up the subzero energy and let loose a pale beam of power. The Ice Beam hit a nearby tree causing the area of impact to completely freeze over. Hydro then charged the tree with his right fist glowing with fighting power. With a grunt of effort the Wartortle used a technically perfect Brick Break on the frozen tree snapping it in half.

Ash and some of his team had to quickly move out of the way to avoid the collapsing tree. Hydro rubbed his head and let out an apology to his fellow Pokémon and walked over to his trainer to apologize.

Instead of what he expected, Hydro received a pat on the head and saw his trainer grinning at him.

"That was amazing! You froze a tree and snapped it in half like it was nothing!" Ash praised his starter who then beamed back up at him. "We have work to do, like every one else you can use the moves but they aren't battle ready. You take too long to charge them up, we need to master them before using them in a serious battle."

Ash waved all his Pokémon over and they stood in front of him ready for orders. Ash was happy with his team so far, they were a strong five. Decent coverage but he could use a few different types to get an all around team, he didn't want to catch every Pokémon since he wouldn't have time to train them but ten maybe a little more would be enough.

"I think it's time we brought our favorite bird back." Said Ash getting happy cheers from the team members who remembered Pidgeotto, Pikachu and Metang looked at the others wondering what was happening.

Ash tossed his first capture high into the air and the Pokéball released its contents, the golden Pidgeotto let out a cry as she soared through the air. Far faster than before she swooped down and landed next to Ash with a happy coo at being reunited with her trainer.

Ash put out his hand and rubbed her beak affectionately, "Sorry again for sending you away so suddenly girl, but you wouldn't have like Mt. Moon, no room for you to fly. Thank you again for agreeing to go to Professor Oak's for a few tests." Pidgeotto cawed and Ash thought she told him it was no problem.

Getting down to business he put on a game face. "Now the next gym we have is Cerulean, they are Water specialists. So Pikachu and Blast are going as they have electric attacks to use, anyone willing to sit out of the battle since it is only three on three to help me decide on the team? Keep in mind that we will be in a tournament afterwards where everyone gets to battle."

Hydro was the first one to walk over and sat next to him, he beat the massive Onix so he'd give someone else a go. Metang then levitated over and let out a metallic hum and settled itself next to Hydro. Ash nodded to the two Pokémon thankfully, they made his decision much easier.

Unsurprised at the last two who didn't budge Ash sighed, one of the girls were going to be angry. "Umbreon," Said Dark type perked up and his Pidgeotto looked ready to smack him with her wing. "You got to battle at the last gym and Pidgeotto just got back lets give her the battle."

Umbreon, who Ash constantly spoiled, looked ready to throw a tantrum for not getting her way. But it was Hydro that stopped the situation from deteriorating. Ash watched proudly as his starter Pokémon went into what seemed to be a lecture, Ash watched as Umbreon's ears were starting to fall further and further down. Umbreon, fully cowed, patted over to Ash and laid next to him on her haunches.

"Breee Umbreon." She said, Ash bent down and rubbed her head.

"That being said we're going to be training all day today and have a mock battle tomorrow before going to the center and then finally, the gym!" Shouted Ash revitalizing his team. "Pikachu, you are naturally fast but have low defenses so we're going to work on speed and evasion, your partner will be Metang. Blast you have power but we need to work on accuracy and speed you send out your attacks, you will work with Hydro. Pidgeotto, I want you to work with Umbreon she'll come at you with everything she has and you need to know when to dodge or counter."

Later, Ash settled into his sleeping bag next to a small campfire. Pidgeotto, Metang and surprisingly Pikachu had asked to sleep in their ball for the night with Umbreon, Blast and Hydro all sleeping nearby.

Pikachu's sudden change of heart regarding Pokéballs was a result of his injuries from Mt. Moon, while healed by Nurse Joy since they were seen to so quickly, Pikachu realized the benefit of resting in his ball. The technology behind a Pokéball has advanced thousands of times over since their fist iteration, now a Pokémon was put in a psychological trance that calmed them while simultaneously putting them in a stasis to keep injuries from progressing. Some Pokémon found them comfortable, others found them necessary evils as it was part of the life of a Pokémon battle partner and resigned their fate. No Pokémon that wasn't wild could stay out of their ball preeminently.

So Ash liked this development, he didn't want to favor Pikachu over his other Pokémon so heavily by never making him return to his ball. Now that he was over his distaste of Pokéballs like most wild Pokémon eventually did, Ash could treat him like any member of the team.

Training went well, TMs really sped up the process of learning new moves. The only one having a problem was Hydro with Brick Break, not that he couldn't use the move he just didn't have any experience at fighting with his fists. Something some training and battle experience will help rectify.

Metang was coming in to its body well, it's super computer brain made learning Psychic and mastering his other moves quick work. He'd have to think of what he wanted the steel type to learn next. Umbreon, using the anger of not fighting in the gym battle mastered Dark Pulse in a single day. Blast didn't disappoint, and finally he had Pidgeotto shake off the rust of not battling for a few days.

Falling back into his sleeping bag, Ash drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The Cerulean City Gym wasn't as large as its Pewter counterpart, it seemed to only be one floor and instead of the league brown it was ocean blue. Ash walked inside and was met with a lounge almost exactly the same as the Pewter Gym.

The only differences were the pictures on the wall of exotic water Pokémon and large water tanks in the walls with a variety of water Pokémon swimming in it. Also unlike the Pewter Gym was the amount of people here, several trainers were in the lounge either watching the televisions or watching the water Pokémon in the tanks.

Ash noticed that there was a school class touring and the realized that this wasn't the only tank and was likely part of an aquarium which would make the popularity of the gym make more sense. After all, most Gyms received an average of two to three challenges a day.

Noticing the Pokémon League official standing by a golden door Ash approached.

"Name?" The man asked briskly making Ash raise his eyebrow. "Ash Ketchum."

Typing into the device he looked up again and nodded. "Ok proceed, this is a three on three match. Do you have the appropriate number of Pokémon?"

Ash's eyes narrowed, "Yes, I have a full team." The man looked down again and began typing before nodding again and opening the door. "The Pokémon League wishes you good luck trainer." He said absently before turning back to the TV on the wall.

' _Never let it be said that the Pokémon_ _League wasn't genuine._ ' Ash snarked in his head.

Walking forward Ash was met with a red headed women sitting in a life guard chair absently drying her hair with a towel. She noticed him and jumped down to stand on the trainer square.

"Welcome, I am Misty the Cerulean Gym Leader, hope you are ready." She challenged while toweling off. The battlefield was a large pool with many small platforms and a long narrow bridge connecting the two sides and giving decent space for Pokémon to maneuver on.

"You bet I am!" Responded Ash and released Pikachu who landed on all fours ready to battle.

Misty chuckled and pulled out a Pokéball from no where and tossed it forward. Out came a squirtle who looked ready to battle despite the type disadvantage.

Ash and Pikachu smirked, Hydro made this guy look like a runt. Pikachu's cheeks sparked and he readied himself for battle.

"Squirtle! Scald!" Ordered Misty.

"Agility then Electro ball!" Responded Ash.

Pikachu used his biggest strength to his advantage and sped around the boiling water and raised his tail. The lightning bolt shaped appendage sparked and crackled with yellow static that compressed into a bowling ball sized orb of lightning. Spinning and throwing the static ball toward the tiny turtle the golden ball closed the distance in a blur.

Squirtle, on instinct, pulled its head into its shell nullifying the sure knockout to a critical hit. More determined he heeded its masters order and used another Ice Beam and took satisfaction when the attack landed. Pikachu grunted at the pain from being hit by the ice attack. Ash called out for a follow up giving him renewed purpose, Pikachu used Agility and blinked between the different platforms in a yellow blur.

Ash watched as his Pikachu moved with the speed of lightning like his species was known for. ' _Squirtle needs one more hit to be out, Thunderbolt should be enough._ '

Pikachu powered up his cheeks and released a powerful Thunderbolt that hit Squirtle who was too slow to react. Pikachu jumped back over to the center platform and waited for his next opponent.

Misty didn't seem surprised or upset at the turn of events Ash noticed, she was more focused on drying her hair. Ash wondered what Pokémon would be next, he would keep Pikachu in the battle until he was beaten, either Pikachu would wipe the Gym itself or he would do enough for Blast to finish off her team. It wasn't overconfidence in his dragon, more he knows that what Blast is capable of and that Misty has to use her weakest Pokémon since he only has one badge. After this the gym battles will get much harder since gym leaders can use more mid tier power until his sixth badge.

Misty tossed another Pokéball out, and this one went directly into the water confusing Ash, he could have Pikachu electrify the water, ending the battle and he was sure Misty knew that. When the Pokémon resurfaced Ash grunted, it was a Chinchou a Johto Pokémon that was a water and electric type. It would seem that Misty wasn't dumb enough to ignore the clear weakness of electric attacks to her water Pokémon. If only he had a grass type then this would be much easier, but he would give the battle over to Blast. Pikachu could come in later if he was needed.

Seeing Ash recall his Pikachu made Misty smirk, "I hope you weren't planning to walk out of here with just a Pikachu, I would have to be pretty stupid to let such a weakness go unchecked."

Ash was well aware of that, to become a gym leader one had to defeat all eight current gym leaders with their strongest teams with your chosen type. No one would be able to accomplish such a feat by not catching dual types to cover weaknesses.

Tossing his next Pokéball out, Blast in his six foot glory landed and smirked at the Chinchou that looked back slightly intimidated by the dragon. Misty gazed at the blue dragon, appreciating its beauty. She's always loved the beauty of the Dratini line, shame they weren't part water so she could use them.

"Blast Ice Beam the water, full power!"

"Thunderwave!"

Chinchou, being an electric type managed to charge up and release its attack first but Blast let loose an Ice Beam toward the aquatic Pokémon. The two attacks met and Thunderwave was overcome by the sub zero beam of energy. Chinchou cried out in pain and dove deeper into the water to avoid the attack but Blast kept up the attack and began freezing the pool over.

Chinchou resurfaced on the other side of the pool and used Thundershock hitting Blast in the back of the head.

Ash narrowed his eyes at the Chinchou, ' _Dragon types resist basic elements like electric so he'll be fine. Time to finish this._ ' "Blast Ice Beam again and follow up with Dragon Rage!"

"Chinchou use Scald then Thundershock!"

The two Pokémon jumped right back into the battle with Chinchou again using its superior speed, fired a Scald that hit Blast center chest successfully inflicting burn on the dragon type. Blast, ever determined, followed through with the Ice Beam that missed Chinchou but froze the water. With step one done Blast charged up the golden draconic energy and released a powerful Dragon Rage at the water and electric type knocking it out.

Blast snorted at the small Pokémon and growled toward Misty taunting her into releasing his next prey. Ash let out a sigh at the over confident dragon, this battle showed that they needed to train speed but he'd let Blast fight until he was out of steam otherwise the dragon would complain all day during their next training session. The dragon could throw a tantrum almost as well as Umbreon and his girl was spoiled rotten. Thank goodness for Hydro otherwise his Pokémon would walk all over him.

"Your Dratini is quite strong, but I know how to handle them." Misty called out, completely confident in her skills to take out the dragon type. Reaching into some pocket her swimsuit must have she tossed out her third and final Pokémon. Emerging from the Pokéball was a water and ice type that impressed Ash, on the platform ready to battle was a large blue dinosaur like Pokémon with a large shell on its back, this Pokémon was put into population revival a couple years ago.

Misty's Lapras let out a horn like battle cry and stared down at Dratini with no apprehension or worry. It knew that its ice typing made it the dragons worst enemy.

"How'd you get that? I heard it was illegal to catch them?" Called out Ash too curious to hold it in.

Misty reached out and rubbed her Pokémon's head who leaned into the gym leaders touch. "She was born to my Lapras that I caught during my first journey a few years ago, the League knows about her. Lorelei's Lapras is actually the father, we both kept one of the babies."

That made sense, obviously she had Pokémon that she caught years ago and the ban on catching the water ice type was only two years old. Not to mention Lapras trainers came together quite often to breed their Pokémon to help with their population. But an Elite Four trainer and Gym Leader having their Pokémon breed made Ash nervous, breeding did come into play when considering how powerful a Pokémon could become and those were two of the highest levels one could get to.

Seeing as this was a natural weakness for two of the three Pokémon he decided to use Ash grunted. Pidgeotto could maybe take one Ice Beam but Blast couldn't as he was already tired.

"Blast Twister!"

"Ice Beam finish the dragon!"

Blast roared and the room saturated with the draconic power Blast was born with and created a tornado around the blue water ice type. Lapras growled in pain and blasted Ice at the twister blowing it away and was met with a Dragon Rage to the nose infuriating the Lapras.

Lapras charged an Ice Beam and fired it at Blast, thankfully Ash's orders registered fast enough and a skillful agility enabled the dragon to avoid the pale beam. Ash called out for a final attack and Misty did the same.

Knowing that this would be it Blast charged his strongest Thunderbolt, yellow lightning charged on its two antenna and blasted off toward the Lapras. At the same time Lapras used Ice Beam again meeting the Thunderbolt. The two powerful attacks met but when a clash of power happened many factors took place to determine the winner.

Lapras used a natural move and had the higher natural attack power, Dratini may have mastered Thunderbolt but he didn't have the extra umpf needed to beat the sub zero energy. Lapras's Ice beam tore through the Thunderbolt and nailed Blast center chest causing the Dratini to fall to the ground unconscious.

Ash sighed, knowing that Blast was at a disadvantage and keeping him in was a mistake, just because Lapras was the last Pokémon he needed to beat shouldn't mean that he should sacrifice Pokémon.

Pulling out Pidgeotto's Pokéball, he stared at it with a serious face, ' _She has a weakness to Ice attacks and that Lapras is the daughter of the Ice master of the Elite Four's Lapras, its in its blood to freeze the opposition, not to mention her species can use Thunderbolt. I refuse to send Pidgeotto in just to lose, she would feel weak and I would hate to see her hurt unnecessarily. Sorry girl, next time._ ' Ash set the ball back on his belt and reached for another.

Ash released his next Pokémon, one that he felt could defeat the Ice type. Metang let out a metallic roar upon being released and looked back at Ash curiously. "I didn't want to send Pidgeotto against it, she would be taken down by Ice or Electric attacks. I know you can do this!" Assured Ash, if worst came to worst he still had Pikachu, the yellow rodent hadn't taken damage but he was worried that she wasn't sturdy enough to take more than one hit from a fresh Lapras and her Ice Beam.

"You certainly have an impressive team." Praised Misty while looking at the second pseudo legendary Ash had on his team.

Lapras glared at the steel and psychic dual type with confidence. Metang didn't have any feelings either in general or towards the battle as it just floated in place silently.

"Scald!"

"Remember your training!"

Lapras, with impressive speed released a compact stream of boiling water at the steel type, Metang hummed and used Psychic. The water attack stopped midair as if it hit an invisible wall and fell harmlessly to the ground. Instead of stopping, Metang push its Psychic attack toward Lapras who looked around puzzled at the strange feeling. Lapras, despite its size and weight was lifted off the ground and slammed back down onto the arena floor.

"Metal Claw!"

Metang's arms lit up as it glided at the downed Pokémon who's mouth sparked with yellow lightning that zapped toward the blue steel type. Metal Claw and Thunderbolt met and much like Thunderbolt and Ice beam earlier the same factors came into play and this time the natural move was Metal Claw and it cut through the yellow lightning bolt with ease. Being made of steel the Metal Claw was in turn covered in the yellow energy thanks to its conductive nature and crashed into Lapras. The natural move supplemented by the Thunderbolt did massive damage to the blue Pokémon snapping her head back and crashing to the floor Lapras's head dropped to the ground and the water ice type fell unconscious.

Metang let out the unique metallic hum in triumph. Ash smiled at his newest team member and recalled it. Letting out a breath of relief Ash walked across the bridge toward Misty who nodded sadly at the Pokéball containing Lapras.

"That was a good battle," Said Ash nicely holding out a hand that Misty gladly took and shook. "I didn't expect a Lapras, I was hoping to use my Pidgeotto."

"I didn't have any other Pokémon at the less than three badges level." Shrugged Misty. "My Staryu evolved and is too strong for this level, Lapras is right at the edge of this level but I wouldn't have held it against you if you lost to her."

Ash nodded, "I'm just glad I remembered that she could use electric attacks and didn't send out my Wartortle Hydro."

"Good foresight." Misty said impressed, Lapras's move pool wasn't something many people knew considering they were so rare and hardly used. "Now for your victory, I give you the Cascade Badge, three thousand Pokédollars and good luck in the tournament next week."

"Thanks!" Smiled Ash as he took his winnings and walked out of the gym but before he could leave he was stopped by Misty.

"I think we should have another battle, come by here tomorrow afternoon after my challenges if I have any and we can have another battle, I want to see the rest of your team. You're only the second person to beat me so far this circuit." Proposed Misty making Ash's eyes widen.

"Sure! But why? Aren't you too busy to train with me?" Ash asked and Misty waved a hand lamely. "Not really I don't do much during the Kanto Circuit other than take challenges and train my new Pokémon."

Nodding Ash to her and agreeing on a time to meet he left to head toward the Pokémon Center to get his team checked on.

* * *

"Wing Attack!"

"Water Pulse!"

Pidgeotto sped toward squirtle with impressive speeds swooping and barrel rolling around the nonstop water attacks, closing the distance between them Pidgeotto slammed her right wing into the shell of Misty's Squirtle knocking it back into the water.

Known for defense, Squirtle jumped back up and charged up a powerful Scald that hit Pidgeotto's chest ruffling her feathers and making her cry out. Ash ordered her to use her new move and she flapped up into the air and called upon her flying type energy to utilize Roost. Misty and Squirtle both groaned at the revitalizing move and went to attack.

"Steel Wing!"

"Aqua Jet!"

Again both Pokémon clashed but with superior strength and speed Pidgeotto's metallic wings bulldozed Squirtle taking it out for the count. Pidgeotto screeched proudly at her victory, landing near Ash she let her trainer rub her beak.

Misty recalled Squirtle muttering words of encouragement to the ball then put it away. "Yet again a great battle, you and your Pokémon have really improved these past few days. I bet you might last against my Blastoise a bit longer this time." She said with a smirk.

Ash rolled his eyes at the remark, for some reason Misty felt it was necessary on their first day of sparring to test his teams full capacity and used her starter, Blastoise, against him. His whole team fought it as hard as they could but none of them managed to do any real damage despite having two Pokémon capable of using Thunderbolt. It was a clear sign that he still wasn't anywhere near his goal, but it filled him with determination and he trained his team into the ground everyday and then battled with Misty every afternoon. Surprisingly, the water specialist seemed to enjoy his company and invited him back everyday.

Today marked his fifth day of sparring with the gym leader, Ash managed to win when she used her weaker Pokémon but Blastoise and Starmie usually wiped his team. Both had years of experience and training behind them far outclassing his team and their two and half months of experience battling. Fortunately his Pokémon were improving rapidly and managed to add some new moves to their arsenal.

For now this would be his last battle with Misty since the tournament was tomorrow and afterward he was going to leave for Vermillion.

"Thanks Misty, seriously, having battles with you everyday has really helped me improve." Ash said genuinely grateful to the gym leader who smiled back.

"Well, it's not often that a trainer comes by with real skill and it's not like I haven't been benefitting from this. Squirtle and Lapras are coming into their own and Chinchou should evolve soon." Misty replied to the rookie. "Also, I wouldn't be mad if you came back to challenge my team after you get your eighth badge." She said with a wink.

Ash sputtered a bit before nodding to the gym leader, who he noticed was still in her swim suit that Ash found very appealing to look at. Knowing it was time to leave, Ash and Misty said their goodbyes and transferred numbers before parting ways.

On the streets of Cerulean City it was a bustling fast paced city, people filled the sidewalks with Pokémon flying overhead and cars drove in the traffic filled streets. Ash walked over to the local Pokémart that was only a few blocks away from the gym. A few days ago Misty recommended transferring his Pokémon to different balls, while more expensive, there were Pokéballs that required fingerprint recognition for a Pokémon to be released. All veteran trainers used them to keep their Pokémon from being stolen or used by people they didn't want using them. With his experience with Team Rocket in Mt. Moon, he though it was a good idea to buy some.

Inside the Pokémart Ash bought twelve new balls six for his team and the other six incase he found more Pokémon to catch. He needed some more coverage to be happy but for now he was looking good. Also with his current amount of money he purchased the TM for Protect, he would give it to Hydro and have him teach it to the team.

"Hey!"

Ash turned around to see someone on the street calling out to him, Ash recognized him and his face broke out in a grin. "Gary, nice to see you again."

Gary Oak looked the same as he did on the first day of their journey although he looked more confident. "I'm guessing you're here for the tournament?"

"Yeah, I've been training my team into the ground everyday to win." Replied Ash with a confident grin that Gary returned.

"I know you'll win, I missed the deadline to sign up after all." Groaned Gary, "I heard from gramps that there was a tournament here but the deadline was two days ago and I just got here."

"Good, wouldn't want to beat you again. You wouldn't believe the Pokémon I've caught." Smirked Ash.

Gary rolled his eyes in response, "Well, I guess I should wait around for the tournament to see your team." The Oak had his signature arrogance back and waved as he walked off.

* * *

The city of Cerulean seemed to close during the day of the tournament. Devon Corp., with their hundreds of billions built a huge arena in record time, thousands of people were in the stands to spectate. Ash felt his palms begin to sweat and regret fill his body at the prospect of battling in front of this many people, worse his mother and the professor said they were going to be watching on the PLN.

With the badge and time requirements to sign up, there were only thirty two contestants. All battles up to the semi-finals would be one on one, the semi-finals would be three on three and the finals would be a full six on six. Ash knew that his team was ready for this, that he was ready for this, all he needed to do was go out there and do it.

The stage lit up and a man in a business suit walked out onto the arena stage. Ash recognized him as Mr. Stone, the CEO of Devon Corp.

Tapping the mic to make sure that it was on, Mr. Stone began. "Welcome Cerulean City!" Cheers from the audience became deafening for a few seconds and thousands of flashes went off from the many in attendance hoping to save the memory with photos. When the crowd settled Mr. Stone began again.

"Yes I love the excitement! Now we have thirty two contestants and the winner walks away with this Pokéball" The CEO held up a Pokéball, "Inside contains a Pokémon from Hoenn that only migrates between Hoenn and Sinnoh so I'm sure that no one here has it. Now the first battle will be between, Marten of Vermillion City and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" With that the Man walked over to one of the side exits to ride up to a VIP viewing area.

Cheers filled the arena as even though both trainers were unknown rookies Pokémon battling was by far the world biggest and most loved sport so any battle was a welcome one. Ash walked with as much confidence as he could muster and stood at his trainer square ready to battle. His opponent, much Ash's opposite swaggered out to his spot, all the while he was glaring at Ash. He wore expensive looking clothes and lazily took out a luxury ball ready for the battle.

"Trainers! This will be a one on one battle, forfeits are allowed and there is a ten minute time limit! Release your Pokémon!" The Pokémon League official referee ordered the two trainers. Ash noticed that on the side of the battleground were two Alakazam that casted a powerful barrier around the crowd.

Ash lobbed his Pokéball out and released Pikachu, a common Pokémon caught in the viridian forrest that could keep him under the radar, using Blast or Metang would give him too much attention at this point. Marten, his opponent, laughed at his Pokémon before releasing a Clefairy who stared at Pikachu blankly.

Clefairy, rare and extremely hard to come by and based on his attitude and type of Pokéball was likely bought. Ash took a deep breath and called out to Pikachu to ready himself, luckily he wasn't at a type disadvantage and that it wasn't a ground type.

"Begin!" Shouted the Referee.

Orders flew out of the trainers to their Pokémon who responded instantly. Pikachu was off in a Quick Attack hoping to utilize his static ability to paralyze the Clefairy who raised a hand for a Double Slap. Pikachu, far faster than the fairy avoided the Double Slap and slammed into the pink Pokémon's gut with a Quick Attack.

"Sing!" Shouted Marten angrily.

"Thunderbolt!"

Clefairy cleared its throat and began humming a tune, but before the melody could affect the yellow rodent it was zapped by a powerful lightning bolt causing it to cry in pain. Feeling sympathy for the fairy Pokémon Pikachu jumped, spun mid-air and coated his tail in metallic energy before he slammed it down on the pink fairy's head knocking it unconscious. Iron Tail quickly was becoming Pikachu's go to close quarters move and Ash was pleased to say it was worth every hour it took to learn.

Ash smirked, buying a rare Pokémon didn't make you unbeatable and it certainly didn't buy skill as the trainer from Vermillion just learned. Knowing that the battle was over Pikachu jumped and cheered out getting even more cheers from the audience for his cuteness. Ash chuckled and recalled the electric type, thankfully Pikachu was comfortable resting in his ball now that he'd been using it more often. Now nobody would know what kind of Pokémon he had since they all were willing to wait in their ball.

Marten predictably stormed off making Ash snort, being spoiled likely didn't help prepare you for a crippling defeat. Ash made his way over to the waiting area and watched the following battles.

So far he'd seen some surprising trainers take the field, interesting enough another guy was using his Pikachu and another guy was using a foreign Pokémon that his Pokédex he didn't recognize. Strangely he didn't see anyone use dark, steel or dragon types, the latter was understandable as it was rare to find in Kanto but dark wasn't, giving Ash the idea to use Umbreon. He didn't want to reveal Blast or Metang before the semi-finals if he could help it.

"Good battle Ash, your Pikachu looked great out there." Ash looked up to see Gary leaning over the railing to look at him.

"Thanks Gary, he's been working hard." Replied Ash, proud of his electric type. He really lucked out by finding a Pikachu that knew Thunderbolt in the wild. "Wait till you see the rest, Hydro is really strong now. How's Bulbasaur?"

"Oh he's great, Ivysaur's got some real power now." Ash grinned at the new information, he didn't expect it to still be a Bulbasaur but was glad to have it confirmed. "Congratulations, I can't wait to battle it."

"Ash Ketchum report to the battlefield!"

Ash looked up at the arena to see them waiting on him, "Well, wish me luck Gary." Not waiting for the snide remark that likely came Ash walked onto the field and retook his position. This time he was met with more applause, after his quick victory in the first match he picked up some fans. But it wasn't like that Clefairy was well trained or Marten knew what he was doing, anyone could look great beating a bad trainer.

"This will be Elena of Saffron City and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town! Trainers release your Pokémon!"

Ash tossed out Umbreon getting applause from many who admired the dark type, Umbreon predictably soaked up the attention getting a sigh out of Ash, she was too vain. Knowing that it was his own fault for constantly spoiling her by letting her do what she wanted and constantly praising her he just shook it off. His mother certainly didn't hold back when she called him and saw the dark Pokémon on the screen, so he could put most of the blame on her.

Elena's Pokéball opened at the same time as his and her Pokémon took the field, a Nidorino. The poison type lowered itself to the ground looking fierce and ready to battle. Ash was happy to note that Elena looked serious and not like she bought this Pokémon so he hoped for a good battle.

"Begin!"

Nidorino crossed the distance between it and Umbreon in a flash surprising many at the poison types speed. Umbreon look unfazed as she waited for her instructions. Getting close she heeded Ash's orders and fired a Dark Pulse directly at Nidorino before it could tackle her. The Poison type was knocked off its feet but got up and shook off the pain, a direct hit but it didn't look ready to give up.

Instead of waiting this time Umbreon's eyes lit up and attacked the enemy poison type's mind with a well executed Confusion. It took her a while but with Metang and Misty's Starmie she was able to get the move down quickly enough. Nidorino stumbled for a bit before calling out and releasing a Poison Sting that hit Umbreon's neck getting her to hiss at the Poison type.

"Swift! Then Blitz Tail!"

"Nidorino use thunderbolt!"

Both Pokémon were eager to please their trainer and started on their tasks. Umbreon with swift, the sparkling energy unique to the move Swift surrounded the Moonlight Pokémon before taking shape as six sparkling stars that raced toward Nidorino. The poison type in question sparked with yellow electrical energy and blasted away at the heatseeking stars before trying to aim toward the dark Pokémon.

Umbreon raced around using Blitz Tail, a simple combination that was Quick Attack mixed with Agility to get close enough for an Iron Tail. So far she was the only one on the team to master it, much to her pride. The two speed techniques made her so fast that Nidorino couldn't get a shot off in time and was on the receiving end of the steel type move.

"Horn Attack now!"

"Move out of there Umbreon!"

Unfortunately for Umbreon she was too close and was hit by a powerful horn attack. She quickly jumped back to her feet and Leered at Nidorino. Dark types were, by their very nature vicious, they were kind when trained and excellent Pokémon to have. But when wild they were to be avoided at all cost since they were the types that usually caused travelers to die for getting too close. It was in their nature, and while Umbreon was more of a spoiled pampered Pokémon she was still a dark type and felt fury fill her. Without prompt she fired a powerful Dark Pulse that exploded on impact getting a cry out of the poison type.

Ash stared at Umbreon, ' _There's that temper of hers, well it's working in my favor so I'll roll with it._ '

Nidorino's ability activated sometime during the battle because Umbreon's fur took on a slightly purple tint showing that she was poisoned. Ash knew that even though she was a very sturdy Pokémon a prolonged battle while poisoned was very stupid. With that in mind he order her to attack, no use holding back if she was already poisoned.

Umbreon used Swift again but this time it was a diversion so that the Moonlight Pokémon could concentrate while Nidorino was dodging or destroying the never missing stars. After a couple seconds of focusing Umbreon used another Confusion on Nidorino causing it to stumble mid dodge and the last of the stars hit it on the side further damaging it.

' _Poison types are weak to psychic type attacks so with two Confusions swift and Iron tail this should be done._ ' Thought Ash before looking over to the panting dark type. ' _I need this to end now because I don't want to reveal Moonlight yet, I might need to use it during the finals._ '

Luckily for Ash, Nidorino was indeed taken down by the two attack combo and was laid out on the ground unconscious. Elena was a good sport and recalled her Pokémon then walked over to Ash and Umbreon to shake his hand.

"That was a good battle, you two make a good team." She said while holding out a hand.

"Bre!" "Thanks! You were good too, you and Nidorino really gave us a workout." Replied Ash while he shook her hand.

Both trainers parted and as they walked off the main area the cheers filled the arena once again. Ash was embarrassed at all the attention but took a deep breath and continued to walk off the stage, he looked down at Umbreon who still looked out of it because of the Poison and brought her to the healing station which had a nurse joy there for the tournament.

Recalling his Umbreon he handed her the ball while telling her that he wasn't going to use her till the semi-finals if he made it there, she nodded and got to work. Ash went and sat down at an empty bench to observe the competition.

The boy who used a Pikachu before was using a Charmander now, the fire type looked well trained and boasted a very powerful Flamethrower attack. Another boy used his Charmander against a Syther but just barely lost and angrily glared at the ball as he stormed off with promises of pain. Ash, knowing what was in store and the type of people out there followed the boy.

They exited the arena and the boy Ash was tailing released two Pokémon, first was the frightened Charmander and the second was a Ryhorn that glared down at the small fire type. Ash waited for his suspicions to be confirmed before revealing himself, all the while clutching Hydro's ball.

"You useless piece of shit!" The boy lashed out with a kick and looked to order his Ryhorn to attack but the large rock type was blasted by water and knocked off its feet before it could.

"Hey!" Shouted Ash, truly angry at the guy who would abuse his Pokémon because he was a shitty trainer. "Charmander lost because you aren't a good trainer, NOT because he is weak!"

The guy glared hatefully at Ash, "Who the hell do you think you are! You have no right to tell me how to discipline my Pokémon!" Charmander flinched at the tone causing Ash to snarl.

Ash stomped forward with Hydro following beside him silently. "You don't deserve to be a trainer if this is how you treat Pokémon." Ash said coldly to the guy making him seethe.

Done with the prick who attacked him and the weak pathetic excuse for a Pokémon he took out its ball and crushed it under his foot. "There you waste of space, your free to burden someone else!" He shouted before returning Ryhorn and stomping off.

Charmander's eyes filled with tears and Ash kneeled down next to it. "I'm sorry that you were captured by such a despicable person." He said softly.

Taking a chance Ash reached out and patted the fire type on the head. It flinched at first before it relaxed under Ash's touch. "I don't know what you want to do but I would never do that to you, I treat all my Pokémon with kindness." Wartortle spoke up then to agree and to show Charmander that he wasn't lying.

"If you want you can come with me, I would love nothing more than to show you that not everyone will treat you horribly. I will never make you do anything you don't want to and will never blame you for losing a battle since it would likely be my fault." Each word further convinced the Charmander that this would be the right choice and it jumped into Ash's arms shouting its name.

Wartortle smirked at the fire type who was already looking better than before and at his trainer who was proving more and more that he couldn't have gotten luckier with his trainer.

Ash grimaced in thought though, he had six Pokémon and usually Pokémon caught after that were sent to the trainers sponsor until a time came for the trainer to call them back. Unfortunately he didn't have anyone he wanted to part with and he certainly didn't want to send Charmander away after he was abandoned by his former trainer, that would really send the wrong message.

Only one option left, he pulled out his Pokégear to call Professor Oak.

"Ash my boy how can I help?" The Professor asked once he answered the call.

"I need to capture a Pokémon but I don't want to send it away, is there anyway I can keep him with me despite the team number limit?" Asked Ash hopefully.

The Professor hummed in thought while stroking his chin, "Well, technically trainers can hold as many Pokémon as they want but it's frowned upon for rookies to hold more than six since they may not be able to handle too many at the same time."

Ash knew he had a chance after hearing that. "Professor! I promise I can handle it, none of my Pokémon are misbehaved and other than Umbreon being a brat sometimes all of them are great! I don't plan on having it like this but I need Charmander with me so I can help him, I don't plan on using him in a battle for a while." Promised Ash while staring hopefully at the Professor.

Walls crumbling Oak nodded, "Well fine, I will authorize you to carry a seventh Pokémon for the time being but any more caught will be sent to me and wait until you call them back. I know you don't want to part with a Pokémon you just caught but these are the rules. Now tell me what has caused this Pokémon to need to be around you like this?" Eager to know what got Ash so worked up.

Ash turned his Pokégear down so that Oak could see Charmander who looked at the screen hopefully. "His trainer was abusing him and I confronted him about it. After he crushing its ball I offered to take him in but I didn't want to force him away after he was abandoned. I also need my current six for the tournament I'm in right now."

"I understand my boy." Professor Oak said with a tight nod, "I'm glad that he won't be abused anymore and good luck in your next battle, your Pikachu and Umbreon are looking good by the way. I can hear your mothers cheers from here." Chuckled Oak while thinking about the excitable women.

Ash rubbed his forehead, "Of course you can." Saying their goodbyes they ended the call.

"Now Charmander I am more than willing to capture you if you still want to stay with me." Ash wanted to make sure that the Pokémon didn't feel forced into this.

"Charmander!" The fire type cheered to his new trainer. Ash pulled out an empty Pokéball and tapped it to Charmander's forehead capturing it instantly.

"Ash Ketchum please report to the battlefield!" The PA announced reminding him that he was in a tournament. Ash returned Hydro and ran back to the field.

Now apart of the final eight the crowd was getting more and more excited for the battles and once Ash made his appearance, he was on the receiving end of a loud round of applause, it would seem that he had fans.

"This will be a one on one battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet and Karen of Cerulean City!" Cheers became deafening when Karen was announced, hometown advantage went to Karen it seemed.

Ash thought on who he should use, luckily he saw her first battle where she used a Vulpix then the second battle with a Ponyta. She seemed to favor fire so Ash went with his trusty starter, Hydro. Karen tossed her ball at the same time and out popped a Magmar who's very presence raised the temperature in the immediate area.

Hydro glared at the living volcano while the Magmar stood stoically.

"Good luck Ash." Called Karen over the buzz of the audience.

Ash smiled at the trainer, "Thanks and you too!" He called back.

The ref nodded at the sportsmanship and raised both of his arms, "Begin!" He shouted while swinging his arms down.

Magmar raised its body temperature causing Ash to sweat from the heat. The audience started complaining to each other at the uncomfortable atmosphere, being a city surrounded by water, the heat cause a lot of the water to steam creating a humid environment.

"Rain Dance!" Called Ash.

Magmar puffed its chest to attack and stop Hydro from changing the weather but was too slow. Hydro shot a ball of energy into the sky that caused rain clouds to appear and a rain to fall. Ash noted that Hydro looked more comfortable in the raining environment.

Karen called out her order and Magmar let out a near wall of fire toward Hydro with a masterful usage of Flamethrower. The Wartortle was quick to respond with Aqua Jet and rushed through the flames toward Magmar. Hydro used as much of its speed and power training as he could as he closed distance toward Magmar.

The flame Pokémon lowered itself and raised both arms, both glowed with orange energy. Hydro used Aqua Jet and clashed with Magmar who caught the attack with two fire punches. The two attacks caused an explosion of steam to spread across the battlefield making it impossible for either Pokémon to be seen.

Ash fanned himself trying to cool off from hot steam he was hit with. "Hydro use rapid spin!"

"Magmar use Fire Spin!" Karen ordered into the steam filled arena.

In the arena, Hydro withdrew into his shell and began spinning as fast as he could. The steam began to spin with the turtle Pokémon causing a small steam tornado to form. As Hydro tried to blow the steam away Magmar blew out a stream of flames that spun in the center of the arena. The rotating fire attack mixed with Hydro's rapid spin caused a huge vortex of fire and steam to cover the battlefield.

Knowing that his Pokémon was in the center of the massive fire tornado Ash called out for Hydro's next move. Inside of the firestorm Hydro was still spinning and started to build up water energy. The purple turtle spun faster before exploding with water out of his shell. The high speed rotation mixed with the high powered Water Gun made a buzzsaw of water that cut the fire tornado in half and slammed into Magmar as well as the walls of the psychic barrier around the battlefield.

The fire and steam was dissipated to reveal a doubled over Magmar and a panting Hydro. Orders flew out of Ash and Karen to their Pokemon who immediately acted. Magmar formed a familiar fighting type attack, Brick Break, and shot forward hoping to take the Wartortle out. Hydro spat out a compacted ball of pulsating water that blurred toward Magmar.

Karen's Magmar was nailed with the Water Pulse attack knocking it back. The sturdiness of the fire type impressed Ash but it didn't stop him from ordering Hydro to attack with Ice beam. Wartortle charge the sub zero energy immediately and hit the dazed fire type center chest.

With its body temperature of over two thousand degrees the ice attack melted and evaporated instantly. However that was what Ash wanted, with the cover of steam Hydro was able to cross the distance and slam into Magmar with Aqua Jet. Magmar was knocked to the ground in pain and it was hit again when Hydro fired a point blank Water Pulse at Magmar's face causing a hiss of steam to be released from Magmar's flames.

"Again! Finish this Hydro!" Ordered Ash.

The prone form of Magmar struggled to get to its feet from the pain of being hit by Aqua Jet. While very sturdy and powerful with regards to special defense the Magmar line had low physical defenses when younger. Ash knew this and order Hydro to use Brick Break.

Karen knew that Magmar was out of the fight and voiced her surrender. While the crowed was disappointed that the trainer from their home town lost, they still cheered for the entertaining battle. Ash blushed from all the praise and recalled his starter hoping to leave the spotlight as soon as possible.

Both trainers shook hands and went to the Nurse Joy to have their Pokémon checked.

Mr. Stone came down to the arena and turned his mic back on. "And with an explosive battle to rap up the last of the quarter finals we will take a short break to allow the trainers to have their Pokémon healed and we will have the first semi-final match in twenty minutes. It will be between Ritchie of Frodomar City and Matthew of Neon Town!"

* * *

 _Author's Notes_

Yup, I'll end it there before I have a 20k chapter. The semi-finals and finals will be next chapter. I hope that my battles are getting better, but with the Pokémon still hovering around level 25-30 most super effective attacks do massive damage. And before you attack me for suggesting levels, its more of a reference to measure when the Pokémon should evolve and which attacks it should know. Also I hope my fights are getting more entertaining and less, ash says attack, opponent dodges repeat process then battle over. I take into account speed and defenses, stab moves and attack power all from bulbapedia.

I would like to hear what Pokémon you want to be the prize I'm torn between Treeko (my favorite grass type and one of my favorites of Ash's cannon Pokémon) or maybe Timburr a Fighting type. I don't mind recommendations but they need to be from either Hoenn or Sinnoh.

So I was looking for some interesting Pokémon stories and found that people like to have Pokémon have sex with people especially Latios. What the actual fuck is up with that? I can understand some weird shit or just ignore it but whats with that, that like really fucking strange? You people…you guys are freaks haha.

Anyway, any questions or concerns toss them in a review. Please give me some feedback.

Ash's Team

Hydro/Wartortle (Male)

Pidgeotto (Shiny) (Female)

Umbreon (Female)

Pikachu (Male)

Metang (Genderless)

Dratini/Blast (Male)

Charmander (Male)


	4. Tournament Finals

_World of Pokemon #4_

 _Regional Champions held a lot more than just a title of strongest trainer in a region._

 _They were the highest ranking ACE trainer and were in charge of all of the operatives in the secretive G-Men organization. When a situation pops up that police or Gym Leaders can't handle they call in the Champ._

 _Along with their military power was their Political Power, the more beloved a Champion was the more pull they had. In the Kanto-Johto 'conflict' Champion Samuel Oak single handedly stopped the fighting with his mere presence. His position as a budding Pokémon Professor responsible for inventing the Pokédex made him an enemy no region wanted. Champion Burt of Johto would be responsible for ending the hundred year war with Unova. Bringing in another entire Country into the League and increasing revenue for both regions. Earning himself a lifetime of rewards and love from both regions._

 _Lance, the current Champion of both Kanto and Johto has been responsible for preserving endangered Pokémon such as Eevee and Lapras. As well as fighting the growing threat of Team Rocket. The title of Champion held many responsibilities._

* * *

Nurse Joy managed to remove all traces of Nidorino's poison from Umbreon's system by the time Ash returned to the makeshift Pokémon Center that Devon Co. made for the tournament.

Palming his dark Pokémon's Pokéball and returning it to its place on his belt, Ash sighed in relief. Knowing that his full team was with him filled him with confidence, his newest member found a place in his pocket for now as his belt only had six Pokéball holders.

His team was pretty balanced concerning battle power - Blast and Hydro stood out in terms of power and in Hydro's case having a balance of offense and defense. Umbreon was his tank, Pikachu could blitz the enemy, Pidgeotto was a skilled flyer and was getting very talented at battling. And lastly, Metang was the wild card, it didn't have the most experience or real battle style but the raw psychic power and steel defense managed to make up for it at this point. Ash was sure that out of everyone he has seen so far he had the widest coverage.

Walking back to the arena he watched as Ritchie's Charmeleon took out a Magnemite with an impressive Flamethrower. So far Ash saw the three Pokémon that Ritchie has already used in the tournament battles leading up to the semi-finals - Pikachu, Charmeleon and Butterfree. Decently powerful and very well trained. Ash knew that bug type only really hurt Umbreon so he just needed her to resist or not have her in the battle.

Although, knowing what he was going to do against his opponent in the finals was great, but, he needed to beat him semi-final opponent first. Who, was walking out to the arena now that Ritchie won against his opponent.

Hearing his name, Ash stood up, fixed his red cap and dusted off his red and white jacket. With confidence he gained from fighting his way this far he walked out onto the battlefield.

The crowed was deafening at this point, both Ash and his opponent were receiving loud cheers from the fans they gained during the tournament thus far. Looking across the field he took in his opponent. He was about his age maybe a bit younger, he wore a blue hoodie and black shorts. His face was tight in concentration and he looked ready to battle. Ash knew he was likely staring and turned to the ref who was addressing the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The ref called out, his voice echoing out over the stands. "This is the semi-final match! Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town versus Sam Barrow of Pewter City! This will be three on three and substitution is allowed there is no time limit!"

Ash reached back and palmed Umbreon's ball, she was his tank and with the move Moonlight, his best choice to open with. Sam reached back and palmed a Pokéball and nodded over to Ash, the Pallet town trainer returned the nod and both tossed their Pokéball out onto the field.

Umbreon stood proud and ready to battle. Across from her and in front of Sam was his first choice, Poliwhirl. The blue swirl Pokémon took its stance to wait for the battle to start.

The ref looked between the trainers and turned back to the two Alakazam that were finishing the barrier before turning back to the battlefield. "Trainers, Begin!"

"Poliwhirl, get in close and use Brick Break!" Called Sam, the Poliwhirl broke out into a sprint to cover the distance, the water type Pokémon had impressive speed to cover the distance so fast.

"Wait till the last second and dodge, follow up will a Thunder Fang!" Ash ordered immediately, Umbreon watched as the Poliwhirl continued to close distance with a powerful glowing arm that it tried to smash into the dark type.

Training with Pokémon like Pikachu made sure that Umbreon's reflexes were up to par and she jumped to the side at the last second. Without enough space or time to move, Poliwhirl was on the receiving end of a powerful Thunder Fang. Umbreon's dark nature came into effect as she bit down harder and shook her head back and forth rapidly while the lightning continued to shock Poliwhirl.

"Brick Break on its head! Get it off of you Poliwhirl!" Sam ordered hastily, obviously worried about the prolonged effects of a Thunder Fang on his water type.

Ash knew that Umbreon was using an electric type move on a water type but also knew that she didn't have the best offensive abilities right now, so he had to switch it up. "Umbreon get back and use Confusion!"

Poliwhirl charged and slammed a Brick Break onto Umbreon's skull, dazed from the direct hit to the head she couldn't react in time for the second one that knocked her across the field. Umbreon hissed angrily and got to her feet with her red eyes glowing with psychic power.

"Poliwhirl use Scald then Ice Beam!" Ordered Sam hoping to knock out the dark type. Poliwhirl heard the order but was unable to act as its brain was attacked by Confusion.

Ash saw that the attack worked and grinned, Umbreon was doing great. "Use Dark Pulse then Thunder Fang!" He knew that it was risky to get too close to Poliwhirl with the move Brick Break but decided to have faith in her sturdiness.

Poliwhirl built up aquatic energy in its chest for a Scald attack, Umbreon was doing the same with Dark Pulse from across the field. Both Pokémon released their attacks at the same time, the collision caused water and smoke to explode outward.

Knowing that this was his chance - Ash called out to Umbreon, "Use Swift then Agility to close distance and finish with Thunder Fang!"

Umbreon charged up the normal type energy, the power swirled around the dark type before six golden sparkling stars formed and shot into the smoke toward Poliwhirl. Knowing that the attack was heading toward her opponent she followed in an expert use of Agility.

Inside the smoke, Poliwhirl tried to find its way back toward its trainer to receive instructions. Before it could exit the smoke, six stars slammed into its back knocking it off of its feet and straight onto its face. Right behind the Swift attack, Umbreon charged her fangs with the yellow static energy and bit down on Poliwhirl's arm as hard as she could.

The Water type screamed out in pain from the electric attack and powerful bite. Umbreon, adding to the attack, bit down harder and concentrated on on the water type. Red eyes glowed and Poliwhirl was hit by a Confusion on top of being continuously shocked by the Thunder Fang.

Sam, in his trainer box was screaming out commands trying to get Poliwhirl to respond or break the hold. But unlike before, the water type didn't have the energy to escape. The two attack combo was enough to finish the Poliwhirl off knocking it out of the battle.

Umbreon released her hold on the water type and walked back over to Ash's side of the battlefield with a bit of blood on her jaw from her vicious attacks. It would seem that the powerful Thunder Fang had enough power behind it to break the slippery skin of the water type.

"Poliwhirl is unable to battle! Umbreon is the winner, trainer send out your next Pokémon!" Shouted the ref, the crowd that was on Ash's side roared out at the victory.

Sam sighed at the defeat and recalled his water type. He reached into his pocket for his next Pokémon.

Ash wondered what Pokémon would be next and whether he should recall Umbreon, she was hit a few times but had enough to continue and Moonlight to fall back on. Though he wanted to wait for the finals to use the move if he could help it.

Sam came to his decision and tossed his next ball out. His next Pokémon was a familiar rock type that his home town's gym was known for. Stomping forward was a Graveler, looking both menacing and battle hardened.

Ash knew that Umbreon didn't have much of an answer for the Rock and Ground type and recalled Umbreon. Reaching for his belt he wondered who he should use. Best and obvious choice would be Hydro, but what if that was what Sam wanted since he likely knew about his water type from his previous battle.

' _Worst case I use Hydro and switch back to Umbreon, she has Iron Tail for a worst case scenario._ ' Thought Ash as he tossed Hydro's ball out onto the field.

Sam knew that Ash would use his Wartortle but decided to keep Graveler in the battle. Ash wondered what was on his mind but didn't care, an easy win is an easy win.

"Are both trainers ready?" Asked the ref, seeing them nod. "Begin!" He shouted to begin the battle.

"Graveler use Earthquake!" Called Sam, hoping that the large scale ground type attack would off balance the water type giving it an opening.

Hydro knew how to maneuver in a jam thanks to his prep for the Pewter gym and withdrew into his shell and rapid spun away to avoid the most concentrated area of the Earthquake. The area in question cracked and collapsed in on itself.

Ash knew that a direct Earthquake attack was bad news for any Pokémon regardless of typing. Much like Hyper Beam - resistant or not, you feel the damage.

Luckily, Hydro has been trained to out maneuver the massive rock titan that was Brock's Onix. A Graveler's was nothing in comparison. Hydro cartwheeled away from the area of effectiveness and blasted the gravel monster with a Water Pulse.

Graveler recovered from the attack with a shake and a stomp. "Use Rollout!" Shouted Sam to his Pokémon.

Ash's eyes narrowed at the order, usually it was hard to hear an opponent over the roar of the battle and crowd but he managed to hear it. "Hydro use Ice Beam on the ground around you and sidestep at the last second."

Rollout built momentum the longer the move lasted. The first hit was never that bad if the two Pokémon were around the same level. But after that the speed increases drastically after each pass.

Graveler's first pass missed completely, the second time Graveler rolled over the icy terrain that Hydro made with his Ice Beam. The controlled roll turned into an unstoppable slide that the rock type couldn't recover from. Hydro didn't need to be ordered to know what he was supposed to do next.

The aquatic energy that played dormant inside of Wartortle burst forth from his throat and blasted toward the rock type in a pressurized stream that hit with enough force to chip at the rock body of the Graveler.

Sam, rather than try to recover the battle as it was, reached back into his pocket and re-enlarged his Pokéball then recalled his Graveler.

"Trainer has recalled Graveler! You have fifteen seconds to send out your third Pokémon or will forfeit the match!" Announced the Ref and Ash was glad to here the last part so his opponent couldn't stall the match too long.

Sam reached for his belt and pulled out another Pokéball, this one had green markings on it. When the Pokémon was released it was a tangled mess of vines, the bottom of the Pokémon had two short legs and comically bright red shoes. His opponents Tangela had little emotion behind its large eyes.

Hydro stared at the grass type with disdain which was rare for his usually jovial starter. Ash knew that Hydro was at a disadvantage but knew that his partner refused to back down in the face of a natural weakness. Ash was willing to indulge his water Pokémon for the moment to gauge the Tangela's abilities. Two things would happen: Hydro ends up winning before finishing the Graveler, or, Ash recalled his starter to let Pidgeotto finish the battle. Either was fine to him.

"Vine Whip maneuver two!" Shouted Sam to his Pokémon who's body of vines wiggled and shot out towards Hydro.

"Rapid Spin then use Ice Beam on the vines!" Ordered Ash and he knew it was risky as the vines could very well stop the spin if they were strong enough but a direct Ice Beam could take them out.

Unfortunately for Ash, the vines were very strong and managed to stop Hydro in place and slam him down on the hard ground of the arena. Tangela's eyes dilated, the vines stopped moving and its body began to glow.

Ash realized in horror that the grass type was using Mega Drain on Hydro. "Ice Beam! Hit anything you can!" He ordered hastily, it was a sloppy command but it would have to do.

Hydro knew what was coming as he could already feel his energy drain from his body, rather than let the pain and fatigue overcome him, he grit his teeth and popped his head out of his shell. Meanwhile, Tangela continued to use Mega Drain resupplying itself with more energy. Hydro's head emerged and let loose a pale beam of icy power toward the mass of vines that called itself a Pokémon.

The Tangela's vines all coiled in on itself turning into a ball of vines reminiscent of a rubber band ball as a defense mechanism. Hydro finally had his freedom and emerged from his shell with a slight pant, the energy drain did more damage than five Vine Whip slams.

Knowing that this three second window was crucial, Ash called for another Ice Beam that fired within the instant toward the grass type. The vines that were hit by the ice attack froze instantly and a well aimed Water Gun caused the frozen vines to shatter.

Tangela cried out in pain from loosing some of its self made nest and shot back to its feet with palpable anger. In that moment, Tangela's ability - Regeneration, activated. The vines that were destroyed by Hydro instantly regrew and the grass type looked ready to continue.

Ash knew that Hydro was out of it for now and reluctantly recalled his starter, prompting the ref to reiterate the time limit for switching. Ash pulled out Pidgeotto's Pokéball and tossed it high into the air, he noticed as his golden Pidgeotto was released from her ball that the sun was starting to set causing an orange glow to take over the skies above the arena.

The crowed was filled with hushed whispers all toward the shiny Pidgeotto that hovered in the air ready to take out the grass type. Ash knew that he just drew significant attention to himself, not just as a contestant in a rookie tournament but as a trainer that possessed a Shiny Pokémon of a species that was actually worth using.

Pidgeotto's six foot wing span flapped powerfully to utilize a Gust that created powerful winds which managed to push back Tangela. However the grass types many vines allowed it to stabilize itself and managed to avoid most of the damage of the move.

Pidgeotto flapped again but this time to initiate a Quick Attack and blurred toward the Tangela.

"Catch it and use Poison Powder!" Ordered Sam to his Pokémon. Tangela sent dozens of vines toward its aerial opponent.

Pidgeotto rolled away from the first wave of vines and actually blitzed through the next. Ash smirked as the results of her training bore fruit. Constantly flying toward his other Pokémon who would fire attacks at her rapidly was paying off. Pidgeotto got within attack range and ignited her wings with power and smashed them into the grass type in a powerful Wing Attack.

Pidgeotto retook to the skies but Tangela remained unmoved under the assault. Ash noticed that many of the vines had snaked out onto the ground like a system of roots. It would seem that sturdy defense and versatile vine attacks at a medium range was the strategy Sam was going with.

"Pidgeotto, use Steel Wing on the anchor vines then finish it with Gust." Ordered Ash.

Pidgeotto reengaged her opponent who stared unflinchingly at the flying type despite the advantage she posed. Tangela and Sam were planning something, that much Ash knew but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was.

Pidgeotto managed to destroy half of the ingrained vines before the reason was revealed. Tangela's green body had a noticeable sparkle to it and Ash only knew one move a grass type had that could mean this.

Pidgeotto swooped in for a Wing Attack on the main body again. Ash tried to call out for her to move but it was to little to late. Tangela's sparkly aura became stronger and stronger until it was glowing and in that instant Pidgeotto realized what her trainer already knew.

The Solar Beam was a direct hit to the flying type. Ash numbly watched as one of the most powerful grass type attacks overtook his golden bird. When the attack ended Ash watched as Pidgeotto fell to the ground twitching slightly. The ref walked closer to get a better look, it was up to him to judge whether a Pokémon could continue or not.

Pidgeotto didn't want to stop the battle it seemed as she jumped to her feet and hacked up a bit of soot. Fortunately, Ash and Pidgeotto had the same thought as to what to do next and his first capture flapped into the air and utilized her flying energy and used Roost to recover a decent amount of her constitution.

Sam glared at the bird with true frustration, "Giga Drain!"

"Finish this with Wing Attack!" Called Ash, fortunately, their previous plan was still viable as Tangela hadn't re-ingrained itself into the ground since firing the Solar Beam. No anchor this time to keep itself from blasting off.

As Pidgeotto closed the distance between herself and the grass type she felt her energy slowly get sapped by the Giga Drain. Luckily in this instance type truly took affect, as grass was weak against flying the Giga Drain was too little far too late as Tangela was brutally assaulted by a Wing Attack barrage.

It didn't take more than two before Tangela dropped.

"Tangela has been defeated, Pidgeotto is the Winner!" Announced the Ref once again. "Trainer send out your last Pokémon!"

Sam shook his head sadly, "My Graveler is on its last legs and he still has three Pokémon, I Forfeit!"

Applause filled the air for both trainers and Ash could tell that many in the Audience, the ref included, respected Sam's decision with nods toward him. Ash recalled Pidgeotto and crossed the battlefield toward Sam.

"That was an awesome battle, your Tangela is something else." Praised Ash and he meant it. Type disadvantage or not Hydro didn't go down easily and Ash knew that his starter wasn't going to get anywhere.

Sam smiled slightly, "Thanks, she was my starter so it's expected." He pointed to Ash's belt, "I can't wait to see the rest of your teams ability in the finals, you better win. I'll feel better if I was beaten by the winner of the tournament rather than the runner up." He joked before walking off.

Ash rushed back over to the on duty Nurse Joy, he needed his team ready for the finals.

* * *

Ash stood on his trainer square nervously, he noticed that his opponent Ritchie, similarly fidgeted in place under the pressure. The final battle, six on six, this was the first time that Ash would need to use his full team.

" _And now the Devon Corporation is proud to present the Final Battle of the Celadon City Tournament!_ " Mr. Stone's voice sounded out from the PA system from his VIP box. " _We have the two finalist, Ash Ketchum from the humble town of Pallet! And we have Ritchie hailing from Frodomar City!_ "

The entire crowed roared for their chosen trainer, Ash couldn't tell who was in favor for him or for Ritchie. But could tell that everyone here had at least clapped after the announcement.

Ash nervously touched each of his Pokéballs, they brought him confidence in his ability to battle and his ability to win. He doubted, but prayed that Ritchie didn't have any Fairy type Pokémon, that would be a problem especially since he didn't seem like a spoiled brat who coasted his way here like the other guy. He fought his way to the finals like him after all.

"Hey!" Called out Ash, "Good luck because I won't hold back."

Ritchie grinned and turned his cap around, "Good, because neither will I!"

The Ref interjected at that point to get things rolling, "This will be a six on six match, switching is allowed. There will be no time limit."

Both trainers pulled out a Pokéball and tossed them into the air. Ash decided to start things out similar to the last battle and released Umbreon. His girl was one of the very few pure Dark types in the world, she had few weaknesses to exploit and her natural sturdiness made her a perfect Pokémon to start with. Ritchie looked to have foresaw this and released his Butterfree, Ash snorted, of course Ritchie would use Butterfree, one of the few types strong against Umbreon.

"Trainers Ready!" Called out the Ref, "Then let the finals begin!"

"Use Poison Powder!" Ritchie called out to his flying bug type.

Ash didn't need to tell Umbreon to avoid that, she was already on it. But rather than try to dodge an airborne pathogen like Poison Powder, which would have been impossible without a Gust attack, she went to interrupt it. Dark type energy burst forth from her jaw and several arching bolts of pitch black energy closed the distance between the two Pokémon.

The Dark Pulse attack hit Butterfree center gut. The flying type flutter its wings and cried out in pain for a second but otherwise seemed fine. Butterfree flapped its wings several times and used Gust. The high velocity winds crashed into Umbreon and other than the blunt impact that was negligible she only slid back a few feet.

Ash knew enough for now, Butterfree was a mid-range fighter. It likely had three of the four powder and spore moves had Gust and likely Confusion up its sleeve. Dark type wasn't very effective against bug types so Ash didn't want to waste Umbreon's stamina in a drawn out battle when he had other options. The Pallet town rookie decided now was an excellent time to reveal one of his secret weapons.

Ash ignored the Ref's calls for his next Pokémon when he recalled Umbreon, who didn't look pleased when her battle was interrupted before she could finish her prey and hissed angerly.

He knew that he would need to be carful with her for the time being, it seemed that she was maturing and Dark types were volatile at the best of time. Who knows how the spoiled princess would act while going through puberty.

Metang took to the battlefield and hovered in the air seemingly frozen. The crowd once again broke out into interested chatter as the rare Hoenn Pokémon appeared, no one expected such a Pokémon in a Kanto tournament other than the Indigo League.

Ritchie looked like he was trying to decide what to do next and Ash wasn't kind enough to allow such an opening to go unpunished. He was nice generally, but all is far in love and Pokémon battles.

Metang hummed a low metallic baritone, its red eyes glowed as its psychic powers were activated. Butterfree was completely unprepared for the powerful Psychic attack that halted the flapping of the bug types wings. Instantly after Metang charged its right arm with power to prepare a Metal Claw and pulled the bug type closer with Psychic.

Ritchie called out for Butterfree to use Confusion on Metang or to burst with any spore or poisons powder it could. However, Butterfree was imitating psychic powers, Metang was the real deal.

The move Psychic was one of those moves that granted the Pokémon the ability to use telekinesis for a short while. For non psychic types it was a boon as it granted a different way to attack an opponent without making them aware what was happening. For a psychic type, it _enhanced_ their already powerful psychic power and telekinetic abilities. And Metang was already impressive, the bug type only had its own thoughts under its control as it was pulled toward the steel types awaiting Metal Claw.

Butterfree, much to Ash's surprise wasn't taken out by the attack. Even more shocking was after the exchange when Ash expected the bug to go down, it used Roost. Damaged healed for the most part and the bug not much worse for ware.

"Agility! Finish with your new move!" Ash ordered with a near growl, he was foolish to allow a window for his opponent to recover. Such an opening could cost championships, and he had _just_ punished this very opponent for doing the same thing.

Ritchie and Butterfree tried to follow Metang but Agility in the hands of a psychic type was on another level compared to anything else using the move. While a popular moved used by most Pokémon, Agility was still a psychic type move and using your own type was always easier and more powerful than using a different type. It was why natural moves were called such and why they packed such a punch.

Metang looked to teleport around the field, not staying in one spot long enough for either trainer or Pokémon to register it was in the spot before it left once again. Ash smirked at his Metang, rather than buying more TMs and building its move pool he focused on making sure it mastered its psychic abilities with the move Psychic, Confusion and Agility. He was very pleased with the outcome.

But, that wasn't to say he didn't teach Metang _one_ new move. It needed a ranged steel type move after all, and Flash Cannon worked very well.

Metang stopped moving directly behind Butterfree and with incredible speed built the steel type energy and released it in a tight compact beam of power. Unlike with Dark Pulse, Butterfree felt this move. Bug was weak and was neutral to steel type moves, but a natural Flash Cannon could hurt a Pokémon that was resistant. A direct hit from the Flash Cannon knocked Butterfree out of the sky and as if fell to the ground Ash ordered another Metal Claw to make sure it was out.

Ritchie could only watch in horror as his calls of Roost went unanswered as the bug type was unable to act in time before it was smashed into the ground by a Metal Claw from Metang. This time, Butterfree stayed down.

Everyone watched as Metang, slowly and deliberately levitated back in front of Ash and awaited the next battle. The crowed loved every second so far of the battle and roared in approval.

From the earlier battles, Ash knew that Ritchie had left, Pikachu and Charmeleon. The other three were a mystery but he was confident that impressive Charmeleon was next, unless Ritchie had something else up his sleeve.

Charmeleon roared out as it was released onto the battlefield. Ash nodded, that was what he thought, it was likely his strongest Pokémon or close to it. Knowing that this was one of the few weaknesses Metang possessed Ash recalled it.

Umbreon reemerged on the battlefield and lowered itself to the ground looking ready to pounce. The dark type was more than ready to go toe to toe with the fire type and budding dragon, she's battled against an actually dragon before after all.

The ref signaled for the start of the battle and Charmeleon blazed into action. A truly impressive Flamethrower burst forth from the fire types jaw that nearly encompassed the entirety of Ash's side of the field. It wouldn't be a stretch to call that a Fire Blast and likely would be after a bit more training and experience on the Charmeleon's part.

Ash knew that the damage Umbreon received wouldn't be severe enough for her to need to be recalled so he spoke clearly into the fire that was starting to die out, knowing that she could hear him.

Both Ritchie and Charmeleon stared into the flames with unblinking eyes, both waiting for the slightest hint that Umbreon was going to retaliate. Ash and Umbreon didn't disappoint, from the smoke and flame came several golden stars of the Swift move from many different directions.

"Ember!" Ordered Ritchie hoping to shoot down the never missing stars.

Ash smirked in triumph, that was exactly what he wanted. Right after Charmeleon took out the first star it was assaulted by a powerful and highly focused Confusion attack that brought it to one knee. The never missing stars lived up to their title and assaulted the fire type, exploding in a shower of golden energy exclusive to the move.

"Dark Pulse! Don't let up till its out!"

Pitch black energy shot toward the fire type, Charmeleon showed that it was stronger than its previous teammate and recovered quick enough to avoid the attack. Umbreon growled and fired another shot.

Charmeleon met the attack with another Flamethrower. The two attacks met and unlike before the explosion caused Ash to shield his eyes. Smoke and Fire took over the arena making it impossible to see the two Pokémon on the battlefield.

When smoke started to clear Ash could see the glowing rings of his dark type. "Moonlight!" Ordered Ash.

Ritchie didn't recognize the name of the move but ordered another Flamethrower to either interrupt the attack or stop whatever Umbreon was planning. The moonlight Pokémon was assaulted by another wall of fire. But she managed to heal most of the damage with the regenerative move.

"Blitz Tail!" Ordered Ash using another unfamiliar term to many. Combination moves and alternative attack names were a common tactic in high level tournaments and elite level battles, saying an attack name only invited the opponent to think up a counter.

Charmeleon blasted rapid fire Embers toward the speeding Umbreon who was rapidly closing distance. The combination of Agility and Quick Attack made the normally averaged speed Umbreon close to an electric type in terms of movement for a short time.

"Mega Punch Zippo!" Ritchie ordered, meanwhile Ash snorted at Charmeleon's name, it was clever.

Also clever was having the fire type wait for Umbreon to come to it with a powerful fighting type move. Dark types were weak to fighting type moves, Ash knew it was risky but he put his faith in Umbreon.

Mega Punch and Iron Tail collided in a brilliant show of power. Unfortunately, one of the two Pokémon in the collision allied itself with defense and sturdiness rather than offense, combined with the type advantage move. Charmeleon won the exchange knocking Umbreon off balance.

The fire type grabbed the dark type and slammed it down onto the ground before charging up another Mega Punch that slammed into her ribs. Umbreon didn't get back up.

Ash angrily recalled Umbreon, watching her get smashed into the ground by a Mega Punch didn't sit right with him. He wanted retribution for that and he would have it.

He shot the ref a look when he reiterated that he needed to call his next Pokémon out once again. While he would normally have Hydro wash the fire type away, Ash would settle for Blasting away the Charmeleon and nothing else.

Dratini landed in front of Ash, and he was thankful for once for his dragon's aggressive nature. The almost natural Leer that Blast released every time he met an opponents eyes. Charmeleon however may not have the dragon typing but was a prideful Pokémon and met the Leer without hesitation. That was its biggest mistake.

Dragons, by their vary nature were prideful and aggressive beasts. Especially pure dragon types, and while the Dragonite line was known for being the most docile of all dragons, second only to the slimy Goodra of Kalos. A general rule of thumb when regarding aggressive or powerful Pokémon was to avoid looking them in the eye as that was a direct challenge. And while normally a kind and gentle species, Blast subscribed to the prideful and aggressive personality type rather than the gentle and docile that his line was known for.

Blast sped toward Charmeleon with Agility, its serpent body zigzagged across the arena like a blue streak. Charmeleon, under Ritchie's orders charged up a Metal Claw, its normally short claws extended with glowing white energy do utilize the Metal Claw attack.

Ash's dragon didn't care, didn't acknowledge the incoming attack nor did he respect its power. Blast, at point blank range, charged and expelled an Ice Beam at the Fire types face. Charmeleon, or Zippo, could only groan in pain but like before, Blast and Ash didn't care. To follow up the Ice Beam attack, Blast coiled and spun and hammered into Charmeleon with an Aqua Tail.

Charmeleon fell on its face looking out of the battle but it was starting to struggle to get back up. Blast lived up to his namesake and charged his signature attack with as much Draconic energy he could. The golden energy of Dragon Rage became denser and larger until it was larger than the dragon's head.

Even though he knew it was unnecessarily aggressive and could be considered bad sportsmanship, Ash didn't care and couldn't push down the smirk that found its way to his face. "Blast it."

If a dragon could smirk with a large draconic energy ball in its mouth Ash was sure Blast would be. The Charmeleon didn't have the strength left to avoid the attack or counter, the Dragon Rage exploded on impact taking Charmeleon out of the fight.

Blast roared out into the night sky, its loud and proud exclamation seemed to snap the audience out of their dazed state from witnessing the brutal display and the thousands of people in attendance burst into excited applause.

Ritchie recalled his downed fire type and snatched his next ball from his belt and threw it onto the field. Ash didn't know what he was expecting but it certainly wasn't what came out, Ritchie released a Jinx. Possibly the second rarest Pokémon in the entirety of Kanto with Clefairy at the forefront.

Even Dratini's and Lapras were found more often, likely because they were so sought after but in the past year only three wild Jinx have been reported to be seen by rangers or trainers. The ice and psychic type Pokémon were powerful, mysterious and if trained right could be absolute _monsters_. Lorelei's Jinx was next to her prized Lapras in terms of power and it was responsible for many challengers to run from the elite four in shambles after their whole team was stomped.

Ritchie glared at Blast and was about to command his Jinx to attack but Ash was the faster and recalled his dragon. He wouldn't waste Blast on an Ice type that would likely beat him after a drawn out battle anyway. No, Ash pulled out Metang's ball and released the steel and psychic type.

The crowd cried out in happiness at the two rare Pokémon that were about to battle.

Ash knew that this would be an interesting battle since he knew next to nothing about how Jinx battle. He's seen a match where Lorelei used her's for a bit but other than Ice Beam and Psychic the Jinx didn't really move or use any special attacks. For all intents and purposes, Ash knew that he should expect ice and psychic type attacks and that the Pokémon is a rare species.

Ritchie on the other hand knew about Metang, he'd lost his Butterfree to it. Advantage went to Ritchie for the moment. Ash intended to change that, nothing better than to start with an overwhelming offense.

Metang blasted forward with Agility, the speed enhancing move furthering the speed of the levitating steel and psychic type toward Jinx with incredible speeds. Both large steel arms glowed a bright silver, the move Metal Claw would be a natural move that was also a weakness to Jinx.

Ritchie called out several orders that Ash couldn't hear over the roar of the crowd. But Jinx's arm moved rapidly in front of herself. The area Jinx's arms moved through looked to glow and thicken with a sort of barrier.

Metal Claw hit the near invisible barrier with a metal screech that caused a cringe in everyone in attendance that heard it. Jinx took advantage of the momentary opening and used a powerful Ice Beam that targeted Metang's right arm causing a large block of ice to form.

"Shatter that ice with Psychic!" Ordered Ash immediately.

Ritchie, and Jinx by extension weren't going to allow Metang to free its arm and pushed into their attack.

As Metang's impressive psychic abilities went to work on crushing the ice around its right arm Jinx focused on itself and shot a white ball of light directly into the air. Ash didn't know what Ritchie was planning but Metang managed to crack the ice enough that its steel body and natural strength could shatter it the rest of the way.

Right as Ash was about to order Metang to reengage Jinx the white orb that was shot into the night sky caused black clouds to appear and from it, Hail began to fall.

' _There goes using Blast unless I really need to, but all non ice type Pokémon get hurt in hail so there is that._ ' Thought Ash as he looked into the sky as small ice rocks began to fall slowly but picking up in intensity as the seconds passed.

"Agility then blast it away with Metal Claw!" Metang was quick to respond and blurred several meters away before doing so again almost instantly.

While Metang was popping up randomly around the battlefield Jinx was trying to anticipate the next spot that it would appear in. Ash knew that if Metal Claw could hit then the fight would be over, Jinx weren't known for their hardiness. While they could take powerful attacks such as Flamethrowers or Solar Beams, it was direct physical damage that did them in. Metal Claw was a physical natural move that was strong against her. Ash knew this would end it.

As Metang appeared and moved to attack there was a slight half second opening as the steel type moved into a striking position. Jinx used that to launch her Shadow Ball right into Metang's face causing it to falter just enough for Jinx to follow up with a slimy Lick attack.

Both moves were very effective against Metang and worse was that Ash's steel type was now paralyzed. "Focus Blast!" It was a last ditch effort to deal some damage to Jinx.

Ritchie issued more orders but the hail made it impossible for Ash to hear and counter. Jinx glowed blue and with the effects of Hail active, she used the notoriously inaccurate Blizzard attack with precision. Metang made a grinding sort of sound as it collapsed onto the hard battlefield ground.

Ash nodded at the turn of events. While Metang was lead by the nose by Jinx and was promptly defeated. Ash now knew the rare Pokémon's fighting style and had a general sense on how to beat it. The constant hail would be a problem, but nothing that couldn't be used to his advantage. Low visibility worked both ways after all and Ash had a small and very fast Pokémon that would thrive in an environment such as this.

Pikachu appeared in a yellow flash and stood in the center of Ash's side waiting for instructions. Ash waited as the Ref announced his Pokémon over the PA and called for the match to continue before he issued his commands.

Ritchie shouted his orders but Ash didn't need to hear them to know what they were, he was going to try and psychically immobilize Pikachu and take him down with Blizzard while the hail persisted. Ash called for a blitz maneuver followed by Thunder Gavel, Pikachu's newest move, while not technically an entirely new move, it was a combination that created a new move.

Electric types were many things - volatile much like the element they commanded, extremely fast and finally, powerhouses that sacrifice a true solid defense for an overwhelming Offense. Ash tailored his Pikachu's training to those facts, and while he did try to up his sturdiness he put most of his time into speed and special attack.

Pikachu, to the average person disappeared from sight the instant it moved. But to Ash and experienced trainers of speed demons followed the yellow blur even as it ran through the thick hail.

Jinx was turning back and forth, trying to find its opponent to ensnare it in a psychic hold. But Pikachu was too fast, and far to small to be spotted by the ice and psychic type. It was Pikachu's playful nature that caused it to slow down for a brief moment on the far right side of the field to draw Jinx and Ritchie's attention before blurring away to attack.

As both trainer and Pokémon tried to locate the yellow rodent, Pikachu was coating its lightning bolt shaped tail in metallic energy and charging his electric sacks at the same time.

Ash found himself grinning in anticipation for the fallout of this attack. Jinx was slow and facing the wrong way, there was no way it could avoid this and Ritchie hadn't spotted Pikachu yet either. Check and Mate.

Pikachu first jumped above the ice and psychic type revealing its location to everyone that had yet to see it. And in the instant that both trainer and Pokémon realized where Pikachu was, they realized that it was too late. The Iron Tail slammed down with force that was impressive for such a small Pokémon and in the next moment yellow lightning erupted from Pikachu in a highly inaccurate but incredibly powerful Thunderbolt. The overpowered Thunderbolt attack was then channeled into the metallic tail thanks to the conductive properties of metal causing the Iron Tail's power to amplified tenfold.

Jinx wasn't known for their sturdiness and Ash was sure that his Thunder Gavel was toward the higher end of the spectrum regarding power in Ash's Pokémon's move bank. Only Metang's fully charged Flash Cannon could rival it at the moment. Ritchie, Ash and all of the spectators watched as Jinx crashed face first onto the ground cracking the solid ground from the impact.

This time Ash didn't care to acknowledge the applause and just stared across the field toward Ritchie, the hail was starting to let up and the field was clearing up. Ritchie found himself down half his team if Ash's math was correct and he only knew that his opponent had a Pikachu up his sleeve still.

The same scripted call from the ref snapped Ritchie out of his thinking as he tossed out another Pokéball. This time it was a less rare but no less impressive Pokémon, a massive Rock snake shook the very bones of the spectators as it roared out issuing a challenge to any Pokémon that would answer it.

Ash instantly recalled Pikachu, he wouldn't be much help here. Instead of Hydro, which Ash was sure would cause Ritchie to release his Pikachu, Ash called out his golden bird Pidgeotto. Ash knew it was a risky choice but he was only in the lead with four Pokémon to Ritchie's remaining three.

But unlike Ritchie he only had two Pokémon that were fresh. Onix looked like it was going to be a troublesome opponent for conventional Pokémon strategies. So he went with unconventional, and used a flying type against a truly massive rock type.

Ritchie and Onix wasted no time before attacking, Earth Power was activated and with a roar several large boulders were created and shot toward the airborne Pokemon. This was what Ash wanted, and this was what he trained Pidgeotto to deal with.

Aerial maneuverability was a flying types greatest weapon and Ash knew that the second he caught Pidgey. The giant energy manifested rocks flew toward Pidgeotto with impressive but overall negligible speeds. The golden bird swooped and rolled and dove around the rocks as it continuously closed distance toward Onix.

The massive rock snake continued its assault on the bird knowing that if even one rock hit it would mark the end of this battle. Both Ritchie and Ash were silent as they watched their Pokémon partners duke it out.

Pidgeotto, now within three meters, coated both wings in the familiar steel type energy. Instead of what Onix and likely Ritchie were expecting, Pidgeotto didn't target Onix's head and instead went for the boulder that was more central.

Thrown off guard by the target, Onix was unable to course correct its final rocks in time to stop the bird. Pidgeotto dove low, almost touching the ground before rapidly flapping to speed back up and slammed both wings into the center most bolder of the rock snake's body.

Not intended for massive damage, although Ash was sure Onix felt that attack, Pidgeotto successfully threw the massive and impossibly heavy Pokémon onto its back leaving it wide open for a few follow ups. This time Ash ordered for Pidgeotto to go for the throat, and in the throat-less case of Onix, its head.

Rock types were known for their defenses, and Onix wasn't an exception to this case. With careful and skilled training, rock types could be taught to shrug off water blasts with little more than a grimace. But in the case of steel type attacks, there was no training that could lessen their effectiveness. It was like a rock and a pickaxe, the pickaxe was made to break the rock and no matter how strong the rock in the end the axe would win.

Onix withstood three Steel Wings, including the first one, before it couldn't focus through the pain to battle effectively. Instead of unconsciousness taking the Onix out of the battle, the ref called it in Pidgeotto's favor with a TKO.

Ash didn't like that it wasn't a _true_ knock out, but understood where the ref was coming from. If a fight was finished it was finished and it was best to call it before any unnecessary injuries occurred. That didn't make the taste any less sour for Ash and he was sure Ritchie and Onix felt the same.

The fifth Pokémon on Ritchie roster was an Eevee that barked out in challenge toward the large golden bird. Ash would give the little guy this, he was tenacious. But being a trainer of that specific Pokémon before, he knew not to underestimate it, so he didn't. He recalled Pidgeotto for the moment and released Pikachu.

The yellow rodent was for the most part unharmed, the battle with Jinx only lasted a few minutes and he wasn't hit by anything other than a bit of hail that was negligible. Eevee and Pikachu met each others vision and growled at one another.

Ref called out for the battle to begin and Eevee let loose a barrage of golden sparkling stars in a textbook usage of Swift. Pikachu blasted all of them away using a rapid fire barrage of Thundershock.

By the time all the stars were gone Eevee had closed the distance between itself and Pikachu and used Take Down. The Yellow rodent squeaked in pain from the powerful attack, he tried to recover fast enough but the brown canine didn't let up and used a quick attack.

As Eevee was about to finish Pikachu off with another Quick Attack it stopped in place with yellow static surrounding its body. Ash sighed in relief seeing that Pikachu's ability activated and gave them a second to retaliate.

Ash and Ritchie both screamed out orders and both Pokémon shouted as they answered their masters calls. Pikachu charged up a powerful Thunderbolt and Eevee lowered itself to the ground ready to take off.

Since they were still so close to each other, Eevee was able to cross the distance between them in a flash. But Pikachu was able to release all of its pent up lightning at the same time.

Pikachu fell back to the ground unconscious, two take downs was more than enough for him to be out of the fight. Eevee managed to struggle for a moment but was taken down by the yellow lightning bolt. Both Pokémon finished the other off ending their battle in a double knock out.

Ash recalled Pikachu and called out the only Pokémon he had left that wasn't susceptible to electric attacks, Blast. Ritchie, however, didn't look like he was ready to continue as he reattached his Pokéball to his belt.

When the ref looked to repeat the same rule, _again_ , Ritchie turned to the official with a pained expression. "My Pikachu suffered from a bad crunch in the semi-finals and still isn't back to full strength. I forfeit."

Groans and dejected moans filled the audience and if Ash was honest, he let a small one out himself. He may have won but he really wanted to continue battling. Not to mention he never got to use Hydro, who he was sure was going to pout about that when he was out training next time.

"Due to forfeit, trainer Ritchie has lost the match. The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Announced the Ref.

Before the cheers were loud, and if Ash thought about it, tame. This time, being called the winner in front of this many excited spectators they roared out in _thunderous_ applause that Ash felt in his very bones.

This, this was just a taste of the feeling he would get when Lance's final Dragonite fell to his Pokémon. The huge grin on his face was so large Ash was sure his face would be sore in the morning from it.

He didn't know how long he was looking at the roaring audience but he was snapped out of it by a hard slap to his shoulder.

"That was some expert battling young man." Ash turned to the person and almost gaped at the up close look at one of the most powerful men in the world. Mr. Stone chuckled at the expression. "You remind me of my son, the first time he won a tournament."

' _Son? I didn't think he had a son._ ' Thought Ash for a second, then, he face palmed hard. "You're Steven Stone's father, Hoenn's former Champion." Muttered Ash in realization. No wonder Steven was so generous with the Pokégear costs, he likely didn't even register tens of thousands as anything more than pocket money.

The CEO grinned, "Yes, he is my oldest son, I also have a daughter who just started her journey over in Hoenn." Ash was then privy to the sparkling eyes of a man who was about to gush about their daughters.

Before that could happen the CEO was handed a mic. Turning to Ash for a moment he whispered. "I'm going to announce you as the winner and had over this envelope with your prize money and then the Pokéball. Open the Pokéball so everyone can see the Pokémon, ok?"

Ash nodded and Mr. Stone did just as he explained, Ash pocketed the envelope and tapped the button on the front of the Pokéball to release whatever was inside. Out popped a two foot tall, tepee shaped Pokémon with large teeth and two very small arms clutching its tan hair.

"It is call Snorunt, an Ice type from Hoenn." Informed Mr. Stone. "There aren't many Ice types in Kanto, so I thought it would make a good prize for the winner here."

Ash grinned and recalled the Pokéball then put it in his pocket for now, once the ball is registered to his trainer ID then it would be transferred to Professor Oak.

* * *

There wasn't much after the prizes, another round of applause an several pictures next to Mr. Stone. Then he went to the Pokémon Center to drop off his team and ask for a room for himself.

 _Ring Ring!_

Ash pulled out his Pokégear and answered, "ASHYY! I'm so proud of you!" Screamed his mother into the call making him cringe at the volume.

"Mom, I can hear you just fine." Ash said trying to calm her down.

It had the opposite effect, "Oh no you don't try and take this from me! My boy just won his very first tournament and I'm going to celebrate it!" She said fiercely.

"Well," Ash started, "Thanks for watching, I wasn't sure if I was going to beat Ritchie when he released that Charmeleon, it was really strong."

Delia nodded on the screen, "Yes, I was sure that it would have evolved if it beat Dratini. But your little dragon has quite the power itself."

Ash grinned, "Yeah he does, I don't call him blast for nothing." He said chuckling.

"Now Ash," Now done celebrating, Delia turned serious. "I'm sure you received a large sum of money for winning that tournament." She raised a hand to stop him from interrupting. "I want you to give me at least a third of it for your savings, you can take it whenever but I don't want you blowing all your money away the second you get it. I trust you but I also know being a trainer is expensive so I want you to have money on the side to make sure you don't run out."

"Okay mom," Said Ash with a nod, it made sense after all and while he wanted to go crazy and get more TMs, he knew that it wasn't smart to toss all his money away.

Satisfied, Delia leaned forward interested, "So, how much did you get?" She asked.

Ash chuckled and scratched the back of his head, "I actually haven't check yet, I just got to my room when you called. No time like the present I guess."

Ash set the Pokégear on the desk in the room and sat in the chair so he could still talk to his mom and reached into his jacket for the envelope. Ripping it open he was met with a certificate for winning the tournament signed by Mr. Stone himself with the date and a picture of all six of his current Pokémon.

"I want that for the house Ashy, I'll have it framed." She said gleefully, she'd love nothing more than to show off how excellent of a trainer her son was. "Ash? You alright honey?" Asked Delia as she looked at her son's frozen face.

Ash, however, was more than ok. The check was for a sum of fifty thousand Pokédollars, _fifty_ , that was enough for a _permanent_ Hyper Beam TM.

"Ash!"

Snapping out of it he turned and showed the check to his mom who had a similar expression on her face.

"Well Ashy, I want you to send the check to me and I will set everything up on you trainer ID and put some in savings. Like I said you can get to the savings but I want you to pace yourself, you need to eat and so does your team. Pokéballs and supplies aren't cheap either and the bigger your Pokémon get the more they eat. Dratini and Wartortle are going to become very expensive to feed when they evolve into Dragonite and Blastoise, and should you catch a Snorlax." She looked at Ash with a serious face, she had heard some of the Pokémon he intended to look for and she didn't want him to have delusions about how long the prize money would last.

Ash nodded, "Well, that high wore off faster than I wanted." He muttered getting a chuckle out of his mother. "But I will send you the check, leave me with fifteen for now the rest can go into savings."

"Okay my boy," Ash blushed at her babying tone. "I will send you a message with your balance after everything is done."

Ash thanked her and hung up, now he needed to call the Professor.

The aging professor popped up on the screen with a smile, "Ash my boy, I was just talking to Gary about your battle with that Ritchie boy. Your Pokémon were looking great, I wouldn't be surprised if that Dratini of yours evolved soon it looks to be close to ten feet."

Ash grinned happily, it was one thing to get praised by your mother, but from a former Champion was on a whole other level. "Yeah he is pretty close," Nodded Ash. "That being said I'm going to be sending you two Pokémon after they get out of the center. Pikachu and Umbreon will have some break time, mom was talking about having a look at Umbreon anyway and both could train while they are there."

Ash didn't want to think about how Umbreon would react to having to leave for a while. She would wine and bark and give him the cold shoulder, but hopefully spending time with his mother back home would cheer her up.

"Very well my boy, use the Pokégear to send them over and I will remove the temporary seventh team member afterwards." Oak replied with a nod.

Now that his business was taken care of, "Well, professor, thanks for the help I will send you a message when I have my Pokémon."

* * *

Breakfast at a Pokémon center varied depending on which one you were currently in. Back in Pewter City the food served was a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables thanks to fertile lands. Rock and Ground types were good for helping the ecosystem as well as battling.

Cerulean City was hope to a massive lake and a variety of streams. Needless to say he noticed a lot of Magikarp fillet and blacked Seaking.

As he dug into his breakfast he thought to his next destination. He had a little over five weeks before the deadline to get a ticket for the SS Anne for beating Lt. Surge. However, after beating his second gym and winning a televised tournament he was sure that his gym battles from now on would be tougher.

Also, Lt. Surge wasn't known for taking it easy on challengers. Even those who go to his gym first for his weakest Pokémon are beaten half of the time. Electric types really were powerful and their reflexes and speeds made them hard to pin down. He couldn't use Hydro, nor Pidgeotto. Ash would need to train Charmander up to a gym readiness power level. Also, he'd need to catch a ground type, not only for Surge but for his team to have even more coverage.

"Excuse me," Ash looked up and saw Ritchie looking down at him with a tray of food. Ash gestured him to take a seat.

"That was a really good battle, Ritchie. I was impressed with all of your Pokémon, especially Charmeleon and Jinx." Ash said good spirited.

Ritchie smiled happily. "Yeah Zippo's got a lot of power and Icy is my strongest at the moment. Your team is really strong too, that Metang and Dratini were really impressive."

Brightening up as if he remembered something, "Also! I never thought that my Onix would have been taken down by anything other than your Wartortle. That shiny Pidgeotto is really special!"

Ash grinned at his former opponent, he was more impressed by the battle than depressed with his loss. "Thanks." He paused as he remembered something, "How is your Pikachu?"

Ritchie sobered up a little, "He's doing better, that Crunch attack really messed up his tail. Nurse Joy wants to keep him under observation for another night before releasing him."

"Sorry to hear that," Consoled Ash, "I hope to battle him next time. So how many badges do you have so far?" Asked Ash, Ritchie had a lot of battling experience behind him based on his Pokémon's performance last night.

Pulling out a rectangular box he opened it to show Ash, "I have four, but only one of the main eight. I challenge all gyms I come across, prime triple A gyms, or the smaller independent ones. They all count anyway." Shrugged Ritchie.

That surprised Ash, "I might check some of those out if I have time. But I want to take down the main eight before the league."

Ritchie shrugged, "Me too but I want to get as much experience as I can. Also, Giovanni is notorious for not being at his gym so I don't want to miss out on all eight because of the recluse."

"Yeah, that is a good point." Nodded Ash, "Well if you have a Pokégear we should trade numbers, if you're in the same area of me some time I'd love to battle again."

Ritchie pulled out a clearly aged Pokégear and typed in Ash's information while Ash did the same on his.

Ash put all his napkins on his tray and stood up. "Again, that was an awesome battle. See you around Ritchie." The other boy waved as he dug into his food as Ash walked off.

* * *

This went about as planned, out on the road leading out of Cerulean he stopped. Ash released all eight Pokémon he currently had to tell them his plans and to send Oak the two extra he had.

Pikachu took it in stride, Umbreon was less pleased. At first she was angry and lashed out at a nearby tree with a Dark Pulse until it was a stump. Then it was begging Ash to stay, he would be lying if he said it wasn't working. But Ash was killing two birds with one stone. His mother got to research Umbreon in person and he could have space for Charmander and Snorunt.

"Brrreeeee." Moaned Umbreon as she rubbed her head on his leg.

Ash grit his teeth and killed his emotions, "I'm sorry, but you'll have a lot of fun with Pikachu and my mom at the Professor's lab." Umbreon perked up at the mention of Ash's mom, she was her second favorite human.

"Now please be a big girl and stop pouting. I will rotate you back in after a while but for now you will stay back home for a week or two." Firm and strong, Umbreon responded to Ash's firm order and straightened back up and went to say her goodbyes to the others.

Ash was happy that she was back to normal. Now it was the very long road to Vermillion City to take down the Thunder King Surge.

* * *

 _Author's Notes_

This chapter was fun to write! I'm trying to improve my skill in writing battles, hope they aren't too bleh or boring still getting the hang of them. Hope the new Pokémon Ash won was a surprise, I was going to do Treeko but decided against it when I thought about the Pokémon I want Ash to capture and Treeko will have to come later. For those of you wondering, Snorunt evolves into either Glalie or Froslass. Both powerful in their own right and uncommon in stories.

So, I have a very important question for all of you. What. is. so. great. about. Ralts!? I swear I never thought I would have people DEMANDING I have her (that was another thing they want, Ralts to be female) on Ash's team. First I just don't get it, is this about those guys who want to fuck Pokémon? Or is Ralts like super powerful and since I never used it I wouldn't know? Please answer my questions!

Anywhoo that's it for now. Please Review with feedback, questions or suggestions. I reply to them.

FAQ

 _Will Ash get a egg that hatches into a female Ralts?_

NO. Stop asking me about that!

 _Will Ash catch a Riolu?_

Not in Kanto if ever, they are like super rare.

 _Will Ash catch Mewtwo?_

Again, probably not.

 _Will I do the movies?_

If they fit into my story, then maybe, but I would drastically change them to the point only the characters would remain the same. So yes or no.

Ash's team.

Hydro/Wartortle (Male)

Pidgeotto (Shiny) (Female)

Umbreon (Female)

Pikachu (Male)

Metang (Genderless)

Dratini/Blast (Male)

Charmander (Male)

Snorunt (Female)


	5. En Route to Vermillion

_World of Pokémon #5_

 _Legendary Pokémon. The first recorded legendary sighting was of Ho-Oh in the Johto region. The burning tower, as it is now know as, caught fire in a lightning storm. Inside three unidentified Pokémon were burned to death in the tragedy._

 _Before the tower was fully destroyed the clouds parted an a colossal golden Phoenix descended from the heavens and with a mighty screech the weather cleared and the fire stopped. The three Pokémon who died in the flames were raised from the ashes and birthed the three legendary beasts: Entei, Raikou and Suicune._

 _The humans and Pokémon that witnessed the event fell to their knees to worship the godly beast. Since then in the centuries that followed over twenty Legendary Pokémon have been seen and named. As churches and followings rose with every discovery. It wasn't uncommon in Johto for people to praise or pray to Ho-Oh during hard times or to thank it for good fortune._

 _Most followers of the numerous Legendary Pokémon are quite peaceful. Most._

* * *

While Cerulean City held many exits, Ash planned on taking the road least traveled and move south off of the beaten path. He had over a month and a half to get to Vermillion City to take down Surge. Ash planned on using the most of that time traveling and training.

He was sure that Blast was on the cusp of evolving. Ash did some research on the Dratini line's evolution and once they reached ten feet in length they held the necessary inner power to evolve, all that was needed after that was Blast to mentally be ready to evolve. Most Pokémon evolved under the stress of battle and training or after winning a battle a tough battle.

For now he would have Blast battle with Hydro everyday, he needed to start building a resistance to ice type attacks and until he knew how weak or strong Snorunt was he would hold off on his newest Pokémon's training. Once Blast was a Dragonite, ice would truly be his worst enemy and it was better to start working on his resistance now while he was still young and small.

Metang needed more experience in battle, training with all of his Pokémon and any wild ones that he came across would work, also Ash would be using him in any trainer challenges he has for a while. And Ash knew that his Metang was still on the weaker end of the spectrum for their species. It would take a lot of work for that final evolution but Ash had a few ideas to make some progress.

Pidgeotto was coming along and Ash was going to have her work on Aerial Ace, a move that required incredible speed and accuracy to pull off. It would take practice but he was sure that it wouldn't take more than a week or two for her to master.

Now his two newest Pokémon, Snorunt and Charmander. ' _I still haven't scanned them, may as well do it now._ '

Taking the two Pokéballs out he set them down and pulled out his Pokédex.

 _Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. When the tip of Charmander's tail burns brightly, that indicates it's in good health. This Charmander is Male._

 _Known Moves - Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen, Metal Claw and Dragon Rage. Ability - Blaze._

Ash smiled a little at the move list, while not overly impressive it showed that Charmander was progressing naturally. He also had a decent move coverage, a steel type and dragon type on top of his natural fire attacks. Ash also had his Flamethrower TM so he may as well give it to his new fire type to get him a better main attack.

Putting the ball into the device and initiating it, Ash smiled after he heard the telling ding he released his Charmander who looked around nervously. It would seem that his previous trainers treatment didn't just go away, Ash felt stupid to think that everything would magically be better.

Ash bent down and rubbed the little fire starters snout, "Don't worry buddy, I'm not going to hurt you." He reassured gently.

Charmander nodded a bit but still seemed a bit nervous so Ash took out a small berry and gave it to the fire type. Charmander looked at the berry curiously before bitting into it. "Charr Charmander!" He cheered as he ate the juicy berry.

Ash handed over the other two he had in his pocket with a smile. "Don't worry, there are more where that came from." Charmander happily nodded as he looked up at his trainer.

"Now, we have work to do." Ash said seriously making Charmander nervous again, seeing that Ash addressed it. "Charmander, I won't hurt you or have my other Pokémon do anything bad to you. But as I told you before, I will train you to be the best and that requires a lot of hard work and determination."

Ash stared down at Charmander who was staring right back at him still nervous, "If you work as hard as you can then I will never be disappointed. If you give everything you got then only I will be at fault should we fail." Ash assured the small fire type.

Ash could see Charmander's apprehension was starting to slowly leave his expression, "Now, are you willing to work with my team?"

The fire Pokémon looked down for a moment and Ash thought that he might give up or become depressed again. He was pleasantly surprised when Charmander's tail flame become stronger and brighter.

"Charmander Char!" He shouted to his trainer.

"Excellent!" Grinned Ash, he could tell that it would take a bit more to rid the fire type of his past wounds but this was a big step forward. "Now I will check my newest Pokémon then we'll do some training." Charmander sat down next to him and Ash pulled out Snorunt's ball.

 _Snorunt, the Snow Hat Pokémon. Snorunt primarily inhabits very snowy regions. It has long been said that any home visited by a Snorunt will be blessed with good fortune. This Snorunt is Female._

 _Known Moves - Leer, Double Team, Icy Shard, Icy Wind, Bite, Ice Fang and Avalanche. Ability - Ice Body._

Ash immediately took out the TM for Ice beam and loaded the move into Snorunt. Then tossed the ball forward and watched as his ice type took shape.

Snorunt looked around before looking up to stare at her knew master. The small ice type look neither happy or curious, no emotion could be deciphered from Snorunt's gaze. Ash shook his head slightly at the unnerving stare and put on a welcoming smile.

"Hello, my name is Ash and I'm your new trainer." Introduced Ash with Charmander by his feet doing the same.

Snorunt looked at the pair emotionlessly while waiting for its orders. "Well, I guess I'll release the others and we can do some training."

Four other balls were tossed into the air and the rest of Ash's current team took shape in the small clearing. Hydro was the first one to introduce himself to the two new Pokémon, Charmander seemed to like him but Snorunt still looked around with its empty gaze.

Letting the Pokémon mingle Ash walked over to his teams loner, Blast.

The small dragon was curled up in a shady part of the forest looking like it was about to nap. Ash sat down next to the dragon, "So, I think it is time for you to work on pulling more dragon energy out for some stronger moves." Suggested Ash getting and interested look from the dragon.

"I can help you of course, but I will need your help with something." Started Ash getting a curious look from Blast. "We have a new team member, Charmander, I want you to work with him to help him build confidence. You help him with his confidence and battling and I can help you learn a new dragon move."

Ash stared at his small prideful dragon who looked to be considering it. Blast looked back at his trainer then let out a snort before slithering over to Charmander. Ash smiled, knowing that his most prideful Pokémon was going to help his shyest.

Next on his list was Snorunt, he didn't know anything about her. The ice type was standing by itself curiously watching the other Pokémon train or relax in the case of Hydro.

"I would like to see what you can do." Ash said looking down at Snorunt. The snow hat Pokémon just looked up and waited for its first command.

Ash turned and pointed to a large rock. "Use Ice Shard on the bolder."

Snorunt made a snort like noise before a pale mist surrounded it for a moment. In front of Snorunt's mouth several sharp looking pieces of ice were formed before Snorunt sent them forward toward the rock. The dozens of ice shards hit the rock making little indentions in the boulder where the shards hit.

"Icy Wind!"

The pale mist returned, this time it was much thicker and moved forward in a blanket-like wave over the grass toward the bolder. All the grass and weeds the mist touched instantly had ice forming on it, some areas were completely freezing over.

Ash nodded toward the Pokémon, he was impressed by its power. The ice type energy was strong and Snorunt didn't seem too slow to bring it up. Ash suspected that Devon Co. had a trainer make sure that it was up to par for the trainer that won her. It would also explain her obedience, Ash was happy that she wasn't weak but didn't know how to feel regarding her emotions. Or lack there of.

"Now, Ice Beam." Snorunt actually turned to look at Ash with a question in its eyes before Ash smiled and pointed at the tree. "You can do it, just try." He assured her.

Snorunt did just that, building the inner ice energy, Snorunt compacted it and shot it forward in a compact beam of pale white energy that froze the bolder before shattering it completely. Snorunt nodded at her new move before looking back up at Ash.

Ash grinned at the power, "That was awesome! You've got a lot of talent I can tell. For now I want you to work with Pidgeotto. Try and hit her while she evades midair, if you take her down she wins and if she hits you she wins. Winner gets a Berry!"

Snorunt snorted at the reward before slowly walking over to the large golden bird. Ash watched her leave while shaking his head and turning to walk over to Metang. The steel type needed some real work at the moment, too few moves and not enough real experience battling.

Metang flew over to ash and let out its signature hum. "Okay, I want you to work on Psyshock. By mastering Psychic and Confusion you should have excellent control of psychic energy by now. For this move you need to build it up and fire it in a compressed beam toward the target."

Ash pulled out his Pokédex and pulled up the move in the devices database and showed it to Metang. The move showed a Metagross raise its two from legs and pink energy build between them before the energy shot toward its target like a pink lightning bolt. The fallout of the attack was a small explosion that completely destroyed the target.

The steel type floated in place for a moment before flying off. Ash knew that his Pokémon didn't need much more than that to go on so he nodded and went to his last and first team member.

Hydro was laying on his back about to fall asleep when Ash came up to him. "Wake up!" He shouted at his Pokémon with a laugh.

The turtle Pokémon shot to his feet and looked around trying to figure out why it was so rudely awakened, he found his answer in the form of his chuckling trainer. Hydro grumbled to himself as Ash finished laughing.

"I think it's time for you to work on Iron Defense. Your getting stronger and stronger so I think we need to work on your defense and endurance. Once you evolve, out speeding your opponent will be nearly impossible. So Iron Defense is the next move I want you to master."

Hydro withdrew into his shell without another word and started focusing on the steel type energy to build up his defenses. Ash knew that it would take a while so he went back over to his things to set up lunch for himself and all of his Pokémon.

Some time later while he was working he heard an explosion, looking over he saw Blast and Charmander going at it.

Blast was firing Dragon Rages back to back at Charmander who was responding with short bursts of Flamethrower. It was obvious to Ash that Charmander lacked the real power to win against Blast but he was giving it all he had and that was all Ash was willing to ask for.

Walking over he observed the mock battle more closely.

Blast slithered in a serpentine manner in between the Flamethrowers, Charmander was persistent and didn't let up the attacks. The blue dragon type used Agility to cover distance and blurred around the smaller fire type to get into position, the dragon type charged his tail with blue aquatic energy and slammed the appendage into Charmander's side causing him to tumble away.

To Ash and Blast's surprise Charmander shot back up and fired another Flamethrower toward the unsuspecting dragon. After a couple seconds of the intense fire attack, Charmander shouted in triumph then fell forward onto his face completely exhausted.

Blast shook off the hit as best he could but a point blank natural move still stung. Ash walked over and patted the dragon on the head getting a look from Blast but ignored it and walked over to Charmander. Ash picked up his small fire type and carried him over to his backpack, Blast was quietly following behind them.

Ash set Charmander down and sprayed some potion on him and gave him a couple of berries. "That was a great battle Charmander, Blast is one of my strongest Pokémon, so taking a super effective hit then and being able to get back up is really impressive." Praised Ash with a smile.

Charmander looked down at his berry shyly before he was whacked on the head by Blast's tail. Ash was about to reprimand his Pokémon when he noticed that Blast was saying something to Charmander.

"Draaa Dra tini Dratini dra." Blast said to the fire type who was looking at him wide eyed. Charmander replied and Blast snorted before hitting him again with his tail.

"What are you two talking about?" Muttered Ash, both Pokémon answered him but he didn't suddenly understand Poké speak so it went over his head. "I'll leave you two here I guess." Said Ash to the two Pokémon who were ignoring him as they talked to each other.

' _Well, I didn't think that those two would hit it off but I'm not going to object. Now, lets see how Snorunt and Pidgeotto are doing._ '

Ash felt the cold air from several meters away, Snorunt certainly had some impressive power in her small form.

The short ice type was firing Ice shards rapid fire toward the flying Pidgeotto, dozens upon dozens of small ice shards flew through the air like a wall of frozen shrapnel. Despite Pidgeotto's incredible speed and maneuverability Ash could spot several cuts and frozen feathers on her body. Ash was impressed that Snorunt had the endurance and power to keep such a barrage for so long, they had to have been going at it for a while.

Pidgeotto dove straight down in a Quick Attack, the golden bird looked like a falling star as the silver energy mixed with her natural golden color. Snorunt ceased the Ice Shard barrage and charged up a powerful Ice Beam. Once Pidgeotto started flying straight toward Snorunt the small hat Pokémon took aim and released the sub zero energy beam that stuck true.

Pidgeotto and Snorunt's attacks met each other head on causing another explosion in the clearing. Snorunt didn't wait for the smoke to clear and released a thick white mist toward the center of the explosion, the Icy Wind froze the immediate area and when the smoke cleared completely Ash winced at the fallen form of Pidgeotto. Her body had several bruises from the rough impact on the hard ground and she was struggling to get back up.

Rushing over Ash stopped her from moving. "Don't worry girl, I'm going to get you some super potion then you will be good as new. Don't move I will be right back."

"Pidooo." She cooed as Ash rubbed her beak before running to get the medical supplies.

Snorunt walked over to the fallen bird and sat down next to her. Pidgeotto looked up for a moment before putting her head back down.

Ash sprinted back over and applied the super potion to Pidgeotto's injuries. Silph. Co's miracle potion sped up the healing process on the molecular level causing the bruises to clear and the cuts to stitch themselves back together instantly. It was both impressive and slightly unsettling to watch, but with these incredible advancements, long gone were the times when hardened Pokémon would have battle scars or life long injuries.

Pidgeotto got back to her feet and cooed when Ash stared rubbing her chest feathers. "That was a good battle between the two of you. Pidgeotto, I think it is time we work on the move Brave Bird. Snorunt, you managed really well against Pidgeotto, so you can rest for the day or practice your moves by yourself."

Snorunt walked off without another word to a secluded area, Ash didn't know if she didn't like him or her personality was just that cold. Maybe Ice types were naturally cold an unfeeling, he would need to ask Professor Oak for more information.

"Pidgeotto, I will do some research on Brave Bird but for now I want you to fly and push flying type energy into a quick attack. Brave Bird is like the flying version of take down so work on that for the time being." Ash gave her another berry and she flew back into the sky to continue training.

Nodding to himself Ash went to Metang, the steel and psychic type was already managing to produce the pink psychic energy outside of its body and was beginning to compress it between its two arm almost able to fire it.

Metang's mouth opened and with a metallic roar-like sound a ball of pink energy compressed and fired in a thin beam toward a nearby tree. The bark splintered slightly and Metang went back to building energy.

Ash smiled at the progress, "That was a good start, to be honest I thought it would take much longer for you to get that far." Praised Ash. Instead of the hum he was expecting Ash felt a feeling wash over him, it was a happy feeling mixed with a sort of gratitude.

Ash looked at his Metang curiously, "Was that you? Did I just feel your emotions?" Ash asked excitedly. Another feeling washed over him, it was like a successful feeling one gets at being right. Ash took that as a yes.

Ash had heard of this phenomenon, it was when a psychic type's mental prowess reached a high enough level for partial telepathy. It was very rare for a Pokémon to be able to fully communicate in english but most psychic were capable of sending emotions and understanding what their trainers felt. To Ash's knowledge, only the Abra line had consistently learned to communicate in english, it was the reason the Pokémon League used them so much for so many tasks.

Ash would need to do some research and have a talk with Professor Oak about the Metagross line's telepathic capabilities. The shiny one from Mt. Moon was able to speak to him, but from what Steven Stone said, that Metagross was truly an outlier among their species.

Ash cleared his thought and turned back to Metang who was waiting patiently.

"Continue working, I wouldn't focus on your speed at building the energy for now, work on making the full attack no matter how long it takes. From there you can work on the speed." A feeling of understanding washed over Ash and he nodded before walking away.

The final member of his team to check on was Hydro who was still withdrawn into his shell. Ash didn't think bothering him would help him so he went back to his things to finish his lunch. After a few more hours he would continue traveling.

* * *

Ash arrived at the rock tunnel entrance after a few days of traveling. His team was making excellent progress, so far only Metang has mastered its new move. For now he wanted to find another way around Rock Tunnel, he didn't feel like going into another mountain or cave for a while.

Memories of Mt. Moon still unsettled him, he was very close to dying in there. Ash wouldn't rely on his strangely incredible luck in potential life or death situations anymore if he could help it. And Ash was certain that if Ash ran into trouble in the mountain, there wouldn't be a literal legendary sitting around to help him.

Ash got an idea and tossed out a Pokéball, Metang materialized and looked around curiously. "Do you think you could give me a ride over the mountain, you can pretty much fly after all." Ash asked his Pokémon.

Ash knew it was a mixture of levitation and magnetism that allowed Metang to float but he has heard of people riding Magneton up steep cliffs. And of a Pokémon like Magneton could do such a thing then Ash was confident that his Metang could.

Metang hummed for a moment before Ash felt a feeling of success making him smile. Ash climbed up on the steel body of Metang who slowly rose into the air then started to slowly move forward over the entrance of the tunnel.

Ash watched the scenery fly by as Metang slowly got used to his weight and increase its speed. This method of travel was pretty similar to travel by car, smooth and quick. He would definitely have Metang fly him over areas he couldn't walk himself, it was so much quicker.

"Could you do this over water?" Ash asked his Pokémon, a confused and curious feeling washed over him and he nodded. "We'll have to test your limits of transportation. This shouldn't take too long, the mountain itself is much smaller than people think. It is just the multitude of paths making the journey through the mountain take so long. I doubt this should be more than an hour of travel at this speed."

Metang, in response, sped up making Ash yell in surprise before grabbing onto Metang's front nose horn. Along with the increase in speed, Metang rose higher to cover more ground.

"I'm not in a hurry buddy!" Ash shouted trying to tell Metang over the wind. His Pokémon didn't hear him or ignored him because it just continued to increase its speed. Ash screamed out terrified when he looked down and saw how high up they were, all he could feel was the constant wave of amusement wash over him.

After what seemed like hours Ash felt Metang slow down and make a slow descent. Finally arriving on the ground Ash fell off of his Pokémon and kissed the ground. He continued to worship the solid earth for a few more minutes before jumping to his feet.

"Don't do that again Metang. I hate heights!" Shouted Ash and once again Metang's emotions washed over him and this time it was amusement and a slight feeling of sorrow. Ash just patted his Pokémon's head and returned it to its Pokéball.

Looking around and having no idea where he was he opened his map on his Pokégear, Ash noticed that he was several miles south of Rock Tunnel and was close to Lavender Town.

Lavender Town was a small town that was famous for the Pokémon Tower in the center of its town. The Pokémon Tower is one of the very few places in all of Kanto that was home to ghost type Pokémon. For that reason alone Lavender Town was a popular place to visit for trainers.

Ash was interested in ghost types but not at the moment, they were too dangerous for rookie trainers to control. Much like dark types they were very quick to attack other Pokémon and wouldn't hesitate to attack trainers after they defeat a Pokémon. While Ash was confident that he could beat the ghost type Pokémon that he'd run across, he didn't really have a use for one at the moment either.

Instead of walking Ash released Metang again, might as well use it for the rest of the trip to Lavender Town.

' _I can always check out the Pokémon tower some other time._ ' Thought Ash as he sat back down on Metang. "Okay, this time you can stay right above the ground. Lets get to the Pokémon Center in Lavender Town."

* * *

The Pokémon Center in Lavender Town was devoid of life other than the Nurse Joy that Ash saw slip into the back a few minutes ago. Ash didn't even see other workers walking around and there weren't any trainers at all.

Ash walked up to the counter and tapped the bell to get the local Joy's attention. A few seconds later Nurse Joy walked out with a patient but tense look on her face.

"Yes?" She asked trying to sound as welcoming as possible.

Ash shrugged off whatever she was going through and removed his Pokéballs from his belt and put them on the counter. "Sorry if I'm interrupting you but I need my Pokémon checked on and a room for the night."

Nurse Joy's face became more genuine for an instant. "No it's not you, I'll take these and have them ready in a few minutes just go take a seat." She said kindly and gestured over to the lounge area.

Ash nodded and after giving her his name went to sit down. Picking up the controller he turned on the PLN. It was the news update hour and the anchor, a women who name he couldn't remember was listening into her ear piece.

" _Breaking News out of the Pokémon League! Elite Four member Agatha has officially stated that the Pokémon Tower in Lavender town is closed until further notice due to extenuating circumstances. All trainers are advised to avoid the Pokémon Tower until further notice. This message will be repeated until the notice is over. It is also advised that rookie trainers avoid Lavender Town al together until further notice, this is the third day of the Lavender Town Pokémon tower shut down._ "

Ash's eyes widened and he ran to a window to look at the large tower. From what he could see there wasn't anything going on, it was still dark and none of the windows in the tower had lights coming out so he doubted there was anyone in there.

"I believe we said trainers should avoid this town for the time being little brat." Ash heard an old ladies voice from behind and turned to see who it was.

An old lady in a long purple dress leaning on a wooden walking staff with a Pokéball at the top. Ash knew who she was immediately, Agatha of the Elite four, the mistress of shadows and darkness.

Ash began to sputter in response trying to form some sort of answer or reason for being here and to try and tell her that she was one of his inspirations. But all that came out was strained stutters. After a few seconds he was whacked by he wooden staff hard on the shin.

"Speak boy, I will not have my time wasted." She spoke firmly as she leaned on her staff.

Ash rubbed his shin where she whacked him, the old lady hit harder than he expected someone like her to be able to. "I've been traveling for the past few days, I just got to town. I'm heading south to Vermillion while I train on the road. I didn't know about the things going on here until that broadcast." Explained Ash hoping that his reason was enough to avoid repercussions.

Agatha snorted before turing to the tower. "I had the tower closed because a Haunter evolved into a Gengar somewhere in the tower."

Now Ash understood, it was very rare that Pokémon reached their final stage of evolution in the wild. Some Pokémon evolved with time others needed to increase their power until they broke through the barrier. Gengar was certainly the latter.

Not only was the Ghastly line ghost and poison, both very dangerous and malicious natures on their own. The further a Pokémon of either type evolves the worse that nature becomes, and Haunters only evolve under high levels of training or highly strenuous circumstances. Some elite trainers have Haunters that were very powerful but still not to the level that would force the evolution. To think that a wild Haunter would gather the amount of power that it would evolve on its own.

Ash felt curious as to how powerful the ghost and poison type was. Ash bet that his team could take it if he found the Gengar. But that was another issue, ghost types were only seen with special equipment or if they allowed themselves to be seen.

"Now you see the issue," Agatha said when the look of understanding passed over Ash's face. "While ghost Pokémon are naturally drawn to the tower they aren't bound to it. That was why we had rookie trainers avoid the town until the situation was under control."

"What can I do to help?" Ash said with as much confidence that he could muster. "My team is strong and together we can help you corner the ghost!"

Agatha actually laughed at that. "No you stupid brat, a Gengar is a very tricky Pokémon to battle even in the best of circumstances. This is a wild one, I will be entering the tower to capture the ghost myself. You will be staying here until your Pokémon are better then leaving, am I understood?" She may have asked a question but her tone and glare made it more of an order.

Ash sighed but nodded in agreement. "I'll stay out of the way but I'm going to leave in the morning, I need to sleep in a bed." Ash tried to sound as firm as she did but it came out as more of a plea.

"Dumb brat." Snorted Agatha as she hobbled off.

Ash shivered when she was out of sight, she was one scary lady.

Ash spent the rest of his time relaxing in the lounge while looking through his Pokédex. After learning of Snorunt's nature he decided to look up Snorunt's and their typical natures and personalities.

It turns out that his was the outlier, she was clearly conditioned by Devon Co. to be very obedient to whoever won her and she clearly had a skilled trainer before him. Ash wasn't sure what he wanted to do, if she stayed like this then he would make do but he would be happy if she found her own personality.

Ash opened the International Trading Hub to see any interesting offers or interests.

One guy was willing to trade a Pyroar for an Arcanine. Ash wasn't sure what a Pyroar was but it was a Kalos Pokémon based on the trainers location.

Another person was offering his Metang and the trade he received was a Gabite. Ash guessed that was a multimillion dollar trade a single pseudo legendary was worth hundreds of thousands if it was in good condition and a dragon pseudo was worth twice that.

After thumbing through the never ending pages of trades, several of which were tempting Ash to actually consider, he turned in for the night after getting his Pokémon from Nurse Joy.

* * *

Ash shot off of his bed in the middle of the night when he felt claws on his skin. The room felt cold and Ash's skin crawled at the feeling in the room. The darkness seemed to move with every breath he took, the chill got worse and Ash's breathing started to shorten.

Running over to the light switch flipping it on, Ash frantically looked around the room, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Sitting down on his bed he rubbed his eyes before turning on his Pokégear, it was one am. Taking a few calming breaths, Ash could feel his pulse return to normal.

Knowing that he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep after that, he put on his belt and shoes. He would go down to the lounge to watch some television, the center may be closed but the lounge was always open and he could get a snack from the vending machine.

As Ash expected the lounge was completely empty, the only sign of life was the lights from the vending machine and the lab equipment that was always on. Ash walked over and bought a bag of chips and sat down in one of the chairs.

When he reached for the tv remote he felt a chill go down his spine. Surprising a shiver he picked up the remote and turned on the tv. Once Ash turned on the tv the room got colder and the tv exploded and Ash felt claws scratch his ribs.

"What the hell." Grunted Ash as he held his side before throwing out his Pokéball. Charmander materialized in front of him, the fire type's tail flame lit the room well enough for Ash to get a better look around.

"Char?" Charmander asked his trainer while also looking around.

"Something is here, not sure what it is but I think I have an good idea." Muttered Ash while looking around. Palming another ball Ash tossed it out and Metang materialized next to Charmander.

"Sense the room, something is here with us." Ordered Ash and Metang hummed as it spread its psychic energy around the room to try and find a sign of life.

On the opposite side of the room one of the tables lifted off the ground then launch across the room at Ash. Ash ducked out of the way and before the table could hit the wall it was stopped midair by Metang using Psychic to catch it.

Ash turned to where the table flew from and saw the shadows themselves warp and grow out from the floor. A large five foot spiky figure rose from the shadows- from the center a large mouth opened, the top and bottom was lined with countless sharp teeth all dripping with a purple liquid that dripped onto the floor. Two large red glowing eyes glared at Ash from the darkness as the figure completely took shape and began to move closer to Ash and his Pokémon.

Charmander started to shake at the sight and Metang made a metallic grinding sound as it readied itself. Ash gathered his wits and tossed out two more Pokéballs, in the next moment Hydro and Blast materialized next to Metang and Charmander waiting for their orders.

The wild Gengar came fully into view the same time Blast and Hydro became aware of their environment. The blue dragon roared at the ghost and Hydro took a protective stance in front of Ash as he stared across the room at their opponent.

"Metang, intercept all poison attacks with Agility they don't hurt you. Blast, Hydro, Thunderbolt and Scald, don't let up till it's down! Charmander use Flamethrower but careful you don't burn the center down." Ordered Ash rapid fire while Gengar slowly stalked forward unconcerned with the human and it's beasts.

Blast's antenna glowed a bright yellow as lightning began to build around the appendages, in the next instant a bright yellow bolt of lightning crossed the distance between the two Pokémon ripping through Gengar's body. The ghost and poison type let out a high pitch laugh, the purple body pulled itself back together and before anyone realized what was happening it Shadow Punched Blast hard enough to send it across the room.

Hydro at the same time as the Shadow Punch used Scald on Gengar right into its eye destroying it, the wild Pokémon had a red glow covering some of its body showing that it was burned. Metang, at the same time, fired Psyshock into the other eye getting a shriek out of the ghost, the sound was closer to nails on a chalk board than that of a scream of agony.

The Gengar's eyes rematerialized almost in the next second, a decaying like smell took over the room. Ash tried to yell out a warning but the dark power exploded out of Gengar and hit every Pokémon in the room. Ash too would have been hit by the attack had Hydro not been standing protectively in front of him.

"Are you guys okay?" Asked a worried Ash, seeing all of his Pokémon take a direct hit from the ghost type as strong as Gengar was cause for concern.

Gengar wasn't slowing down and spread both of its stubby arms out and four black energy balls materialized and shot toward each Pokémon. The four Shadow Balls sped toward their intended targets- Hydro activated Protect, Charmander destroyed the ball with a Flamethrower and Metang stopped it with a well aimed Psyshock.

Blast and Hydro charged up their next attacks while Charmander took the ghost and poison Pokémon's attention away from the others. A large and intense wave of fire closed in on Gengar, instead of taking the attack or blocking it, the wild Pokémon waited until the last second before sinking into the ground to avoid the flames. Ash winced when the flames crashed into the Pokémon Center's waiting area lighting the chairs and corner booths on fire.

Hydro fired and pale beam of sub zero energy at Gengar as soon as it reemerged from the ground. The Ice Beam hit Gengar's large protruding tongue turning it blue, in the next moment golden energy crashed into Gengar knocking it off of its feet. The Dragon Rage caused a small explosion from the impact inflicting further damage to the Pokémon Center.

Ash saw a opening to do some real damage, "Confusion then Psyshock!" Metang was quick to attack the ghost and poison type's mind with Confusion making it stumble. Psyshock was beginning to charge up as Metang's arms were sparking with the pink psychic energy.

While Gengar was holding its head in pain from the Confusion attack Blast and Charmander let loose two Flamethrowers that were close enough to each other causing the attacks to merge into one large wall of fire. Gengar only managed to recover enough to watch as the large fire attack hit it.

Gengar rematerialized a few feet away from the center of the damage and raised both arms while pointing in the direction of Ash and his team. Ash saw the room distort as a strange energy was released from Gengar in waves. Ash realized in horror what the Gengar was trying to do and screamed out his warning.

"It's using Hypnosis! Focus on staying awake and don't look at Gengar, especially not its eyes!" Screamed Ash to his Pokémon, the four quickly turned away using their will power to stay alert.

Hydro listened to his trainer and shook his head trying to resist the Hypnosis assault, the water Pokémon noticed Charmander having trouble and fired a weak Water Gun at the fire type to keep Charmander awake.

Ash saw that his Pokémon were beginning to overpower the sleep inducing attack, unfortunately this was a mental battle rather than physical so they were completely still as they focused on staying awake. Gengar didn't waste its opportunity and lashed out with Sucker Punch knocking all of them off of their feet.

Gengar focused its ghostly energy into its right hand and the darkness compressed into a Shadow Ball. The attack only became more and more dense as Gengar continued to add more power, after a few seconds it was the size of a bowling ball.

The ghost and poison type Pokémon shot the Shadow Ball across the room, rather than it hitting one of the Pokémon, Ash was the target. Gaping in shock Ash only just managed to dive out of the way of the attack. Without hitting Ash the attack had no way to stop and it continued on until it hit the Pokémon Center's wall causing a large explosion nearly destroying the entire wall.

"Get up guys please! I need you all back in the fight!" Pleaded Ash seeing Gengar build more power after its Shadow Ball missed its target completely.

Hydro struggled to his feet and retook his position standing protectively in front of Ash. Right as Hydro took his stance he fired an Ice Beam directly into Gengar's mouth freezing its tongue completely. Blast's head sparked a bright yellow and with a roar a wave of yellow energy spread across the room slamming into Gengar paralyzing the ghost and poison type.

Ash smirked when the Thunderwave successfully paralyzed the Gengar and turned to his other two Pokémon. "Psyshock Metang, Flamethrower Charmander!"

Metang's arms raised toward Gengar, while the wild Pokémon was reforming its tongue a beam of pink psychic energy closed the distance between the two Pokémon in a flash. The attack exploded on impact sending smoke out from the point of impact. While Gengar screeched in pain, Charmander roared and let loose a highly intense cone of flame that completely engulfed the area the wild Pokémon was occupying.

The trainer and four Pokémon waited as the smoke slowly wafted outward slowly giving them visibility of their target. In a flash a purple ball of energy shot across the room slamming into Blast launching him across the room, he finally stopped when he slammed into the back wall cracking the surface.

"No! Blast get back up!" Shouted Ash, most of the other Pokémon called out the same. The only quiet Pokémon was Charmander who's anger was palpable. Charmander's tail flame increased its intensity two fold and with a roar his entire body exploded in a white light.

Ash and the other Pokémon watched excitedly as Charmander evolved. Ash knew that he was ready to evolve power wise but was lacking that one last push to cross the threshold. It would seem that seeing his first friend in such pain did it for the fire type.

When the white light of evolution dimmed down Charmeleon stood gloriously in Charmander's place. The roar that tore through the room was deeper and far more intimidating than the small Charmander he was just a moment ago. Flames engulfed his mouth, with a furious roar a Flamethrower emerged from Charmeleon that was nearly twice as hot as its previous evolution.

The flames instantly engulfed Gengar, Ash's eyes watered from the intense fire attack causing him to shield his face with his arm. Hydro released a small cold mist from his shell cooling off Ash and the closest Pokémon. The putrid smell of Gengar's body being burned by the Flamethrower was nearly enough to cause Ash to vomit but he managed to push back the bile and focus on the battle.

The flames finally died out, all that was left was a crater of soot and ash. Ash and the other Pokémon quickly looked around the room trying to find their enemy. Blast slowly slithered back over to his team with noticeable pain in every action he took. Ash reached for his backpack and cursed when he realized he left it in his room.

Ash was about to recall Blast when he felt the familiar chill in the air once again. From behind Ash, from inside of his very shadow, Gengar took shape looking completely fine after all the attacks Ash's team hammered into it. Presence completely unnoticed, Gengar's playful expression switched into completely malicious.

"Ah!" Screamed Ash when he felt claws slash into his ribs. All of Ash's Pokémon spun around and looked in shock at their trainers injury. Blood started to soak the side of his shirt from the gashes, Ash pressed his arm to try and keep pressure on the injuries and slow the blood loss.

Gengar's hackles filled the room and in the shock of Ash's injury he spat out a silver orb of pulsing energy that hit Hydro making him stumble about.

The Water Pulse Attack that Hydro was about to fire exploded prematurely inside of Hydro's throat choking the purple turtle Pokémon in its Confused state. Wartortle started to cough up all the water trying to catch its breath from the self inflicted attack.

Metang slammed two powerful Metal Claws into the Gengar's purple body destroying most of the Pokémon's body. Gengar rematerialized once again looking ragged but otherwise fine, Charmeleon flanked the ghost and poison type Pokémon with glowing blue claws lit with draconic energy.

Gengar, still ripped into several pieces, charged pitch black energy into its oversized mouth and released a pulsing beam of darkness. Dark Pulse ripped through the air toward Metang, the steel and psychic type roared out as it met the deadly beam with a Flash Cannon.

The beam struggle between the two attacks was intense enough to force Ash to back off of the immediate area to try and put a safe distance between himself and the battle. Gengar was so focused on the struggle that it didn't notice Blast and Charmeleon come up behind it charging matching Flamethrowers.

Hydro shook off the confusion and fired a powerful Scald at the already burning Gengar.

"Charmeleon Dragon Claw! Metang Psyshock! Blast use Twister! Hydro wait until my signal then Ice beam!" Ordered Ash seeing that Gengar was finally showing signs of slowing down. Ash figured that Chameleon must of had Dragon Claw as an egg move or something since that was the only explanation for him suddenly learning it after evolving. He wasn't going to look a gift Ponyta in the mouth thought.

Gengar only reformed in time to receive another barrage of draconic enhanced claws. Charmeleon slashed as fast as he could before his dragon energy enhanced claws lost their strength and jumped out of the way. Pink energy then slammed into Gengar's face ripping a genuine cry of pain out of the ghost.

The psychic energy continued to barrage Gengar for another second while Blast twisted his natural draconic energy into a powerful cyclone that sucked in the purple ghost Pokémon.

Ash turned to Metang, "Use Confusion, try and disrupt Gengar's focus so it can't escape. Hydro, use Ice Beam after the Confusion hits." Ash ordered finally seeing an end to this night.

It couldn't come any faster as his vision was starting to blur from his no doubt heavy blood loss. If Ash thought about it, he was sure that it was only adrenaline that was keeping him conscious at this point.

Gengar's screams continued to fill the room as the Twister continued to tare apart its body. Confusion continued to disrupt its focus so that it couldn't dematerialize to escape the Twister or even try and retaliate. As the cyclone started to die out a condensed beam of sub zero energy crashed into Gengar's body freezing the ghost and poison type in place.

Ash fell to one knee. He reached to his pocket where an empty Pokéball was. He wasn't going to let this night go to waste, he was taking this monster and adding it to his team.

Vision blurring, Ash expanded his ball and readied himself to throw it. Before he could, a black Pokéball with a yellow u on the top hit the frozen Gengar on its body sucking it into the capture device.

The last thing Ash heard before he fell unconscious was the tapping of a cane.

* * *

It was the sound of beeping that woke Ash, his throat felt dry and his side burned. Blinking away the blurry vision, the first thing that came into focus was a humming Nurse Joy who was changing out his IV.

"Oh—" She jumped when she noticed that he was awake. "Mister Ketchum! You're finally awake, you gave us quite the scare." She said with the usual up beat attitude that she and her fellow Joy's were known for.

"How—" Ash coughed as he tried to speak, Nurse Joy handed him a cup of water that he gulped down. "How long?" He asked.

"About two days, you lost quite a bit of blood. Luckily we patched you up quick enough and had enough blood in storage that in another few days you should be good as new." Joy told him happily as she finished refilling his water cup.

Ash drank the cool liquid swiftly and cleared his throat, "My Pokémon, are they alright?" He asked, voice slowly returning to normal.

Joy nodded, "Your Metang passed out right as you did, I'm surprised that it lasted that long against what could be one of its worst match ups. The rest had minor injuries and exhaustion, nothing that I haven't fixed up a million times before. Unfortunately they haven't been allowed to leave their balls since they would wreak havoc whenever they didn't see you upon release." She said regretfully, she didn't like keeping a Pokémon in their ball longer than one day without release, it was bad for them to remain in stasis for that long.

Ash allowed a small smile grace his face. His Pokémon were hard to control for him some times as well, he could only imagine what a stranger had to go through. At least he didn't have to worry about them obeying another trainer or leaving him.

"When can I leave?" He asked hoping to leave the confines of the hospital bed as soon as possible.

"Well," Nurse Joy lost some of her pleasant attitude and became pensive. "I would strongly recommend that you stay in bed for the day at least."

Ash nodded, "I understand, but I want to let my Pokémon know that I'm ok."

Joy pointed to his side table where his belt and six Pokéballs were. "Your Pokémon aren't too large, don't let them get out of hand and you can release them in here for the time being." She said pleasantly to the injured trainer before taking her leave.

Ash reached over to the side table and grabbed his Pokéballs. With a couple tosses, all six Pokémon were standing in the hospital room looking around questioningly. When they saw Ash they jumped onto the bed crushing him in affection.

Well, four of the six did.

Blast coiled at the foot of his bed looking at him with a fond expression that slightly surprised him. What didn't surprise Ash was Snorunt who was sitting in one of the chairs in the room looking around blankly.

Hydro and Charmeleon were on the bed arms wrapped around Ash happily. He was only too happy to respond in kind. Metang was hovering next to the bed, its glowing red eyes seemed to carry a warmth to it that washed over him as the emotional telepathy worked once again.

Pidgeotto tried to get close but she was too big to get near Ash on the bed. She settled for perching atop the metal railing on the side as she took up a silent vigil next to him.

"Thank you." Ash said suddenly making all the eyes turn to him questioningly. "That Gengar was beyond our level and you still defended me."

Hydro and Charmeleon gave Ash another hug making him laugh. Pidgeotto leaned down and nipped his ear affectionately, Ash felt a wave of happiness wash over him making him turn to Metang who was floating in place right next to the bed.

Ash was whacked lightly on the head by Blast who snorted at his trainer making him frown slightly. Hydro turned to the dragon to reprimand him when he noticed that his trainer and fellow teammate were staring at each other.

The rookie trainer stared at his prideful dragon who was returning the look just as seriously. Ash could see that Blast felt he was being stupid to expect that his Pokémon would just let him get hurt by the Gengar.

The Dratini continued to try and convey his emotions and thoughts to his trainer but could tell that Ash wasn't getting it all. Blast, reluctantly, moved closer to Ash getting within touching range. Ash carefully reached out and stroked the blue scales of Blast's serpent body.

"How touching."

Ash whipped his head around to the doorway where Agatha stood looking at the scene with a bored and completely uninterested expression.

"So, you ended up facing Gengar." She said offhandedly as she hobbled over to a spare seat. "You actually managed to put a stop to it. So, good job."

Ash squinted at the praise, it sound more like a comment than any sort of positive statement to him. "Uh, thanks."

Agatha rolled her eyes, "Anyway, the damage to the center will be covered by the Pokémon League. Most of which we can 'assume' was the fault of Gengar, so you're off the hook." She informed him as if it was a gift, did she expect him to pay for it?

"Wait," Interrupted Ash getting a glare from the women. "What happened to Gengar? I was about to catch it but I think it was caught before I could throw my ball." Ash couldn't really remember the last moments before he blacked out. But he did remember wanting to capture the ghost Pokémon but was unable to for some reason.

"I caught it."

For the first time since meeting her, Ash stared at the Elite Four trainer without any nervousness and actually glared at the old women. How dare she steal a Pokémon he quite literally bled to catch!

Agatha whacked him again with her cane before he could speak, noticeably lighter than last time but still painful. "That Pokémon is too strong for a rookie brat like you. Or did the fact that it took on most of your team and nearly killed you not evidence enough?" She sneered at him in response to his glare.

That cowed Ash, she was right now that he thought about it. Even Blast, the only Pokémon he had that would likely disobey him or even lash out was never so strong that Hydro couldn't take him down. But if he caught that Gengar and it lashed out while they were traveling or training, he didn't want to think about what would happen.

Some of Ash's Pokémon were less than pleased with the way the old woman was talking to their master and started glaring at her. Ash soothed the angered ones before turning back to Agatha still less than pleased.

"Fine," Grunted Ash not wanting to admit the old lady was right. "I'm still mad you just took it, I could have let it stay with Oak for a while until my Pokémon got stronger." Muttered Ash while looking away.

"Wartortle!" Agreed Hydro who was standing next to his trainer on the bed. Charmeleon and Blast just continued to glare hatefully at the women who was constantly talking down their power. Metang was still floating next to the bed while Pidgeotto was cleaning her feathers uninterested in the situation that she wasn't apart of. Ash rolled his eyes when he spotted Snorunt still sitting in the chair now completely asleep with a snot bubble coming out of its nose.

"Get over it brat, that old coot wouldn't have been able to control the Gengar either. His time as a trainer is long passed." She snorted while thinking about her former rival Oak.

"So what now?" Interrupted Ash not caring in the slightest about the old women's thoughts regarding one of his heroes.

"I'm supposed to say that the International Pokémon League's Kanto Branch, would like to formally thank you for your service to Lavender Town. And hope that this experience does not discourage you from continuing your pursuit to become a skilled Pokémon trainer." She droned on with the clearly scripted speech.

"That's it!" Shouted Ash, he was in a hospital room because of a wild Gengar that the league was supposed to handle. Not only did Ash suffer several deep gashes but his rightful capture was taken from him! "This is ridiculous! The league sent you! Quite literally one of the best trainers in the world to handle a situation that shouldn't have taken you an hour solve, yet I, a rookie, had to do it. Then you take my capture! Yes! I know I'm not ready for a Gengar but that isn't the point!"

Ash's rant started to rile up his Pokémon, Hydro stood his full three foot height next to him on the bed doing his best to intimidate the old women. Blast and Charmeleon looked ready to attack but were waiting for their trainers orders. Pidgeotto and Metang were the most tame, both looked ready to strike but weren't trying to intimidate the old women with glares or angry expressions. Yet again, Ash spotted Snorunt sleeping in her chair completely oblivious to the situation in the room.

Agatha rose to her feet and slammed her cane on the ground. A chill that was familiar to Ash and the Pokémon who face Gengar filled the room and from the shadows around Agatha a familiar purple ghost and poison type rose with its signature cackle.

"Silence!" Shouted Agatha while glaring at every occupant in the hospital room and retaking her seat. "What do you want shitty brat?! A medal? To have Lance personally thank you? I was only here for this incident because I was in the area when it happened, otherwise an ACE trainer would have been sent. You fought a Gengar, not a legendary Pokémon, and I thought we went over why I caught Gengar."

Ash looked down at his hospital bed trying to think of a response. "Well I—"

"I thanked you personally, I could have left you with no explanation while you were unconscious." She continued not giving him a chance to speak, "Now you have had a valuable lesson about the world; bad things can happen without warning, and good deeds are left unrewarded. Welcome to the real world." She said with a nasty smirk on her face that was mirrored by the Gengar that hovered around her.

Agatha recalled Gengar then stood and looked about to leave before she turned back to Ash, "Most rookies would have died if they ran across such a situation unprepared. It shows how much talent you have that you not only survived but defeated the Gengar. I can see why the old coot trusted you with a Pokédex." With that final statement the Mistress of Darkness left the room in silence.

Ash and his Pokémon just stared at the door without a sound as they thought back over what the old women said.

The only sound in the room was the still sleeping Snorunt's snores.

* * *

 _Author's Notes_

So I had more, but I thought that this was a good stopping point.

So Ash got into a situation over his head, he managed to get out alive but yeah, close call and all that.

Now. I think I should explain some of my thought process on some parts of the story.

The team— yes, Ash has two pseudos. In the games you can't get one, typically, until after the elite four or right before them. In a realistic world of Pokémon, like the one I'm trying to write, it wouldn't make much sense that the Pokémon wouldn't 'appear' until after you get eight badges. It's not like they are extremely powerful or fully evolved, they are just as strong as his 'regular' Pokémon. Also if you came across a beldum or metang in the wild early game, you'd try to catch it too.

The dratini was mostly added last minute, I only really wanted Ash to meet his rivals in the first chapter. A good way for Ash to meet Paul was by coincidence since Gary caught up to him specifically to battle him. Paul wanted the shiny Pidgey, and as I've established, shiny's are worth _a lot_ and of course you wouldn't offer a common Pokémon for it.

Ash's Pokémon also have some powerful moves i.e. Flamethrower, Dark Pulse, Ice Beam. Like in the games, you can't buy TMs until celadon. But again in a realistic world, like this one, why would only one city have such incredible devises. In my story, if you got the cash for them you can buy them. Also, it took Steven's seventy five percent discount for Ash to buy a decent amount of moves and it still nearly cleared him out.

Hope I'm not ranting and my choices make a bit more sense. If not, well *shrug*, meh don't read it, I'm writing for entertainment not a paycheck.

 **Any questions, comments or recommendations, leave a review with them**.

I need oc trainers for Ash to battle. If you want, give me a name, Pokémon team and badge level you want them to appear at. No legendaries or uber teams please, also like I said before no ridiculous OC's with dumb over the top back stories.


	6. Lt Surge

_World of Pokémon #6_

 _The Indigo Plateau. The home of the very first Pokémon League headquarters and of the illustrious Mew Colosseum. The massive stadium held one hundred thousand people in the stands and the top was lined with VIP viewing areas._

 _Over a century ago, during the first tournament hundreds of trainers flocked to the arena to test their might against one another all for the chance to catch a glimpse at the legendary trainer known only as the Master._

 _The blood of failure and defeat flowed into the very cobble stone around the plateau. Throughout the mass expansion of the Pokémon League under the Master's leadership many other arena's have sprouted up but never could match the majesty or legacy of the Indigo Plateau. But, as all of the League's competitors would say; "The plateau was the plateau was the plateau. How could we compete?!"_

 _It was no coincidence that permits for the construction of Pokémon tournament arenas were vetted and approved by the president of the league at the headquarters located in the Indigo Plateau._

* * *

" _What do you mean you just got out of the hospital?!_ " Two voices shouted at the same time.

Ash winced and turned down the volume of his Pokégear. His mother and Professor Oak certainly had a pair of lungs on them.

"I stopped in Lavender Town—"

"They closed that town off to rookies a week ago!" Shouted Delia still frantic at the news of her son being in the hospital.

Thankfully, Oak came to his aid. "Let's hear the boy out Delia." Ash smiled at the professor, he was about to thank him when the older man continued. "Even if the boy was foolish enough to get himself into such a situation."

Sighing, Ash started his story. "I was traveling south on route ten, after Mt. Moon I wanted to avoid caves for a while."

"—What happened in Mt. Moon!?" Interrupted Delia now more worried. Again, Oak calmed her and gestured for Ash to continue.

"Well, I had Metang fly me over the mountain. Yes I know that was dangerous but I trust my Pokémon enough to know that I would be and was, fine." Ash said quickly when his mother looked like she was about to interrupt again.

"When I got to Lavender Town I noticed that no one was around, not even the Pokémon Center had trainers. I talked to the Nurse Joy who took my Pokémon for a check up and waited in the lounge to watch tv. That's when I found out about the situation in Lavender Town, also, that's where I met Agatha." Ash winced when he said the Elite four members name, as if it physically pained him to say it.

Professor Oak groaned at the information bringing attention to himself. "That women, turn down one date and become enemies for life." He whispered to himself, Ash and Delia raised their eyebrows at the older man's words then moved on not really wanting the details.

"She was, is, a mean lady." Ash finished lamely, he couldn't bring himself to say he liked the old women. Respect her, maybe, she was obviously an amazing trainer but beyond that he wanted nothing to do with her.

Delia looked like she wanted to interrupt but a snort from Oak stopped her. "She's awful! Oh, if it weren't for the fact that she's a high ranking league member I would have had her removed years ago." Ranted the regional professor.

Ash nodded, he could understand the sentiment. "Anyway," The two adults refocused on the reason for the call and let Ash continue.

"I was sleeping in my room when I felt claws scratch me, I jumped up and turned on the light and saw nothing. After all the shock from waking up like that I knew that I wouldn't be able to fall back asleep I went to the lounge to get a snack. From there I was attacked by a wild Gengar, my team and I held it off and eventually beat it. Agatha captured the Gengar before I could and I passed out from blood loss from a Shadow Claw I took to the side." Ash took a breath and waited for he rant that would no doubt follow.

Surprisingly, no words were spoken for a couple seconds. "Well," Delia started, "I don't like that you had to face that Gengar on your own and that you were in the hospital but I guess you didn't go looking for trouble. So I can't really blame you." She finished evenly, Ash wondered if she was more disappointed in what happened or that it wasn't his fault. Knowing his mother, it was a bit of both.

Professor Oak nodded next to his mother on the screen. "I will contact the league to get a full report on what happened. Ash, you should check that Pokégear for news updates, even the current model is capable of searching the web so I'm sure that your special prototype is just if not more capable."

"I will Professor." Nodded Ash, remembering something Agatha said Ash squinted at the regional professor. "Also, I have a question Professor."

Oak leaned forward patiently, "Go on my boy."

"Agatha said that you trusted me with the Pokédex. Doesn't every new trainer get one?"

Oak moved forward, stapling his hands together and leaning into them. "No, not all trainers get one. I only give them to trainers that I myself sponsor. Also, only my sponsors get a pick between Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur. Did you not find it strange that there are trainers out there without one of the three 'starters'?"

Now that Ash thought about it he did, the three 'starters' were very useful and powerful Pokémon. So why would there be trainers that didn't use them? Why is there a type of trainer called 'bug catchers'? Because, they never received one of the 'starters'. It certainly made sense now that he thought about it, the three starters were quite rare in the wild so it wouldn't really make sense to hand one out to every new trainer. There were millions of trainers out in the world, Ash doubted there were more than a couple thousand of each starter at the best of times.

"So why did I get one?" Ash asked the professor finally.

It was Delia who answered, "You never wondered why I started making you study so hard? It was for that test you took before we moved to Pallet."

Ah, that test. When Ash and Delia were living in Celadon while he was attending the Pokémon Academy for his education before he could be a trainer, his mother was constantly on him to study and research Pokémon and how to raise them. He knew that none of the other students studied as hard as him, not even the top student. It always bugged him that he was pushed so hard.

Then about a week before they moved he was taken to a Pokémon League building and given a rather _difficult_ test. He knew that no one would have passed it without all the studying that Ash did, after all, the academy didn't teach about mating patterns of Growlithe during winter or if positive reinforcement was better than a firm hand when training Fairy types.

"That was _my_ trainers exam." Professor Samuel Oak informed him, "When I interviewed Delia for her position in my lab she boasted about her smart and talented son. So I had the league give you my exam after I hired her since you would be moving to my home town. When you passed I sponsored you and offered you one of the three 'starters'."

Ash leaned back in his chair taking in the information. So he was one of the very few who were personally sponsored by the legendary Samuel Oak. But that didn't explain about the Pokédex.

"And the Pokédex? Why wouldn't all rookies get one?"

Oak leaned back and sighed tiredly, "Once, I wanted that to be a reality. But the league wanted to charge for them. Not that I wouldn't have, but the trainer license fee and the starter Pokémon fee already add close to twenty thousand. I didn't want to charge families even more than when they could barely afford giving their children the chance to become a trainer. At cost, the Pokédex would cost close to eight thousand dollars for all the parts and manufacturing costs."

And what family could dish out nearly thirty thousand just to give their child the chance to be a trainer? After all, the Indigo Plateau's foundation was built on the shattered dreams of failed trainers. Who wanted to spend thirty thousand only to have their dreams shattered with inevitable failure? No one.

"You didn't charge me?" Ash questioned, "Well at least as far as I know." He finished while looking over to his mother who was quiet the whole time.

Oak shook his head, "Nope," He said with a smile. "That test you passed, with a ninety eight percent by the way, was hard enough to give you a full Pokémon League Scholarship. That would have waved the trainer license fee, a starter of your choice and the rookie travel pack filled with supplies. The only person I know of that did as well as you was Gary, who I personally tutored during my free time." Ash could hear the pride in his voice when he started speaking about his grandson.

Wow, he didn't expect that. From the beaming expression of pride on his mother she clearly knew. So he was some sort of prodigy? Huh, who would have thought?

"And with all that potential and brilliance." His mother said suddenly, "You still were in the hospital for three days and didn't even consider telling me!" She shouted, clearly still upset that he didn't call her when he woke up.

Again he lowered his head in defeat. "I said I was sorry mom. I just didn't think that I should call and worry you." Yup, that was a mistake. From his expression, Oak thought so too.

"Worry me!" She shouted. "I worry when I don't hear from you for over a week! Now I'm terrified about what happened to you Ash and what could happen." Anger melted away to fear and Ash's heart broke seeing his mother like this.

"I promise I won't do that again, I'll call you more often and will never keep you in the dark again." Ash said seriously, he even turned to Oak and repeated the same thing.

"I would appreciate that my boy." Replied Oak now pleased with the conversation. "Are there any updates with your Pokémon journey you want to tell us about?"

Ash thought for a second. "Actually, the Snorunt I won in the Cerulean City tournament has a strange personality. She shows no emotion and doesn't talk with my other Pokémon, she listens to everything I say and trains hard but she doesn't seem happy."

Delia and Oak thought for a moment, then the Pokémon Professor spoke up. "Hoenn Pokémon aren't my area of expertise I'll be honest. But the Snorunt line are usually pretty happy and cheerful. They're even said to bless places with good fortune."

Delia nodded, "Maybe you should send her here so we can have a look at her." Posed the Pokémon researcher, "I'll be honest and say that Umbreon is getting quite angry at being here for so long. It may be best to send her back to you, pure dark types need to be handled very carefully. We're lucky that Professor Oak's team still inhabits the ranch. It was getting to the point that Arcanine was going to have to step in."

Ash winced when the professor nodded along with his mother. "Well, I'm ready to send you Snorunt, I have her ball right here." Ash said holding up the Pokéball to his Pokégear's camera.

Oak help up a similar ball, "I've been forced to keep her in her ball for most of the time, you know the drill." Ash and Oak typed into their respective devises. The ball in Ash's hands glowed and vibrated before dematerializing. In the next instant another ball materialized in his palm.

Ash snapped it to his belt and smiled at the camera. "How is Pikachu mom?"

Delia smiled so wide she nearly glowed, "Oh he is just the cutest little helper! He trains in the morning and sits on my shoulder in the lab when I work or will spend time in the corral with the other Pokémon. He helps me whenever I ask for it."

"That's great, I'm glad one of my Pokémon is well behaved." Groaned Ash while rubbing his forehead.

Oak snorted out a laugh, "You sound like a tired parent." Delia giggled next to him while nodding.

Rolling his eyes Ash continued. "My other Pokémon are doing well, the Charmander I caught evolved and Blast - my Dratini, is about ten feet long and is showing signs of evolving. My other Pokémon are all progressing well and I will switch out Charmeleon with Pikachu in the coming days."

"Very well and remember Ash, with that Pokégear you can switch out your team very conveniently so don't neglect training your Pokémon." Oak said sternly.

Ash nodded, just as serious, "I will professor."

"Good luck Ashy and remember to keep me updated! Pikachu and I will be waiting!" His mother said one last time with a wave toward the camera.

Ash hung up the call and stuffed the compacted device into his pocket then took out his favorite girls Pokéball, he tossed it into the air releasing the dark type.

Umbreon blinked when she felt herself leave her ball, she expected the stern professor or Ash's mother. She was already annoyed with the fact that she was surrounded by the weaklings in the professors land, but now she was forced to stay in her ball most of the time. When she looked around she noticed that she wasn't at the professor farm. She looked up and saw her trainer standing next to her with a grin on his face.

"Bre!" She called as she pounced on her trainer while nuzzling his face with her own. Ash laughed happily when she attacked him and started petting her.

"I missed you too Umbreon, you're looking good." He greeted her happily and let her nuzzle him for another minute before pushing her off and standing back up.

After their reunion he decided to get down to business. Ash stared down at her sternly making the dark type look up at him nervously. "I heard you were causing mom and the professor trouble."

"Umbreeee breon." She moaned while looking at the ground pitifully.

"I won't praise such behavior, nor will I condone it. I will let you off the hook this time since I missed you." Ash said with a twitching mouth trying to suppress his smile.

Umbreon rubbed her head on his leg affectionately, Ash reached down and scratched behind her ears getting a purr from the dark type.

"Well how about we travel for a bit, I'll let you stay out of your ball for a bit." Umbreon called out happily and followed behind him when he started walking off.

* * *

Route twelve was on the edge of the Kanto region's eastern border. Ash and Umbreon looked out at the seemingly endless ocean with awe filled stares. They were only three days out of Lavender Town and already the atmosphere was far different than the dark and foggy ghost town.

Sensing this was a good time, Ash tossed out his team so they could look out at the ocean with him and Umbreon.

All of Ash's team materialized and while Hydro and Metang greeted Umbreon happily, the rest joined Ash in staring out at the ocean.

"Come on guys," Several calls made him chuckle, "And girls, let's go down to the water." He suggested before running towards the water.

All of the Pokémon called out and began to chase him down to the shore. While Ash didn't get into the water, Hydro and Blast certainly did and while those two enjoyed the sea the rest were relaxing on the docks next to their trainer. Pidgeotto was flying around in the sky, enjoying the fresh air.

"I think we should have an easy going day today." Suggested Ash getting calls of agreement from his surrounding Pokémon. He'd been giving them drills every afternoon after making camp on the road.

After having a filling lunch Ash and his Pokémon lounged around the docks watching as water Pokémon swam around and a couple Wingull flew overhead.

The calming atmosphere of the docks was ruined by an earthquake that shook the docks and destroying parts of them in the intense vibrations. Ash and his Pokémon all shot up and looked around trying to find out what was happening.

Running down the docks Ash and his Pokémon came across a terrifying sight.

A huge eight foot tall beast was roaring and stomping its way around the ruined docks. Its thick leathery hide that covered its body was dark blue, its stomach and face was cream colored. Two large fangs protruded from its bottom lip that looked strong enough to pierce even the scales of a Gyarados. Two massive arms swung about with strength so immense that it ripped through the thick wood of the docks as if they were toothpicks.

A Snorlax was tearing through route twelve in some sort of rampage. That was the scariest sentence that Ash had ever thought.

Ash started backing away but his escape was hampered by Snorlax turning to him and his team. The rookie trainer flinched at the intense look in the large Pokémon's eye and yelped in terror when orange energy began to charge in it's mouth.

He did not want to be on the receiving end of a Hyper Beam, a _natural_ Hyper Beam.

"Metang use Psychic to try and divert it. Hydro Protect. Charmeleon Flamethrower, Blast use Dragon Rage. Don't let this Hyper Beam hit or we're done!" Screamed Ash truly terrified, Gengar was scary but this was a literal life and death situation.

Snorlax's roar was the only warning of the incoming attack being released. Charmeleon and Blast shot their strongest natural moves at the incoming death beam trying to slow it even in the slightest. The orange energy beam ate the incoming attacks and proceeded onward with little power lost.

Metang's body glowed with pink energy, in the second that the Hyper Beam approached the space in front of Ash and his team, it became hazy and thick with psychic pressure. When the orange energy entered the space occupied by the psychic power a boom sounded out in the area and a shockwave of power blasted out from the epicenter that would have taken Ash off of his feet had it not been for Hydro standing in front of him protectively.

When the Hyper Beam smashed through the psychic barrier Hydro stepped forward. The water type shown with a thick blue energy that expanded out with interconnecting square creating a protective shield into front of Hydro and Ash.

Although the move Protect was almost completely invulnerable, it only worked like that when the Pokémon were around the same level. Hydro was strong, but a natural Hyper Beam from an enraged Snorlax was something else. When the protective shield inevitably shattered Ash and the others looked on horrified at their approaching end of the approaching Hyper Beam.

At the last moment a pulsing beam of pitch black energy slammed into the orange energy attack knocking slightly off course. While it was minuscule it gave everyone the chance to dive out of the way with minimal damage.

After the resulting explosion of the Hyper Beam Ash turned to the one responsible for saving him and his team.

"You've been training." Ash said to his Umbreon impressed. The rest of the Pokémon all repeated the sentiment to the dark type who wasn't even trying to hide how happy she was under the praise.

"We need to do this together," Ash told his Pokémon. "This Snorlax, the fact that Umbreon was able to divert the Hyper Beam even a little means that if it wasn't in a rage then it would be around our level. Pidgeotto, I want you to use Gust whenever there it is a lull. Charmeleon, Stay mid range with Flamethrower. Umbreon up front, Dark Pulse every chance you get. Blast use Thunderwave then Dragon Rage, Hydro use Water Pulse. Metang use Confusion and Psyshock liberally."

All of Ash's Pokémon roared out and rushed into combat while Snorlax was recharging from the massive Hyper Beam attack.

Psybeam and Thunderwave crossed the distance and slammed into the massive gut of the Snorlax, the thick leathery hide took the psychic attack without fail. But Snorlax clearly felt the attack as it winced after the attack landed. Ash smirked, this was going to be _way_ different than Gengar, if it wasn't for it's hunger filled rage Ash knew that Hydro or Blast could take it. That Hyper Beam was it's only chance, now it was time to take the fat titan down.

Yellow lightning sparked around the massive Pokémon showing that the paralysis took. In the next moment, a massive golden beam of energy nailed Snorlax in the face. The concussive force behind Dragon Rage almost took the normal type off of its feet but it managed to stay upright. In the next moment a Water Pulse hit it in his huge gut further pushing the Snorlax off balance. Right as it was about to retaliate, a powerful gale force of wind surrounded Snorlax pushing it off balance making it fall onto it's back with a loud crash.

Umbreon followed up the attack barrage, the Dark Pulse ripped through the air before it smashed into Snorlax's stomach the thick hide rippled and smoldered after the attack landed.

"Metang Metal Claw, Charmeleon Dragon Claw!" Ash yelled to his two Pokémon, the Snorlax line was a literal wall of defense for all types in most cases. But the thick hide on its body was more suited for shrugging of dense energy beams and intense walls of fire rather than sharp claws or powerful powerful strikes.

Metang exploded forward with two gleaming metal arms surrounded with razor sharp steel type energy. Next to it was Charmeleon surrounding both dark red claws with a deep blue energy increasing the offensive power of the sharp claws with draconic energy.

Snorlax wasn't out of the fight yet, right when the two Pokémon got close its right arm shot out with the speed of a cannon ball glowing with fiery energy. Metang was too close and moving far to fast to avoid the deadly Fire Punch and was on the receiving end of a powerful Fire Punch.

Ash could only watch as his Metang was hit with enough force to be blasted across the docks onto the beach nearly thirty yards away. On impact with the beach an explosion of sand and water was the fallout of the steel and psychic type's high velocity crash. Ash numbly raised his Pokémon's ball and recalled his downed friend.

In that moment most of the attention was on Metang, leaving Charmeleon a free window to slash away with Dragon Claw. Blast, next to Ash, roared out and charged up a powerful Dragon Rage. The draconic energy condensed into a pulsing ball of golden power that grew to the size of the small dragon's head before it shot forward in a cone of energy that smashed into the massive Pokémon.

Snorlax roared out in pain from the dragon energy fueled attack, most Pokémon even defense orientated ones were unused to the rare dragon type attack and weren't ready fro just how hard they hit. The massive eight foot tall monster stomped angrily at Ash and his remaining team members with furious eyes.

Pidgeotto made her appearance once again and sped toward the Snorlax like a golden bullet blitzing it with a barrage of Wing Attacks. Pidgeotto's left wing slammed into the Snorlax's neck and she went for another to the skull but was smashed by a powerful Ice Punch to the chest.

Ash and his Pokémon screamed out in horror when they saw Pidgeotto crash through the dock and into the sea water below. Ash was proud to say that Hydro didn't hesitate for a single moment before diving into the water to bring her to shore so she wouldn't drown.

Thankful that Pidgeotto was going to be safe Ash grimaced a bit when he noticed that he was down three of his Pokémon for the battle since Hydro was busy carrying Pidgeotto to the beach.

Umbreon circled the large Snorlax with incredible speed that Snorlax couldn't keep up with. The moonlight Pokémon used her incredible speed to maneuver into an Iron Tail that smashed into the back of Snorlax's knee bringing it down from its massive eight foot height.

Charmeleon used that moment to charge in and deliver another Dragon Claw to Snorlax's side shredding through the thick hide drawing blood and getting a pain filled groan out of the normal type. However, the Snorlax didn't back down from the two on one battle, it shifted its incredible weight to one leg. With tremendous strength that only a Snorlax possessed it jumped and Body Slammed Charmeleon under its thousand pound body.

Ash was more prepared this time as he realized what was about to happen and tried to prevent it by recalling Charmeleon. Unfortunately he was too slow to save Charmeleon and only managed to return him after Snorlax moved off of the fire type. Ash spotted several bruises and a possibly broken arm but he stocked up on powerful miracle medicine so he wasn't too worried.

Umbreon shot another Dark Pulse to Snorlax's back that did enough damage that Snorlax turned to face her with a deep angry growl. What the Snorlax didn't see was Blast glaring at the huge Pokémon with such fury that he was shaking.

That was Snorlax's biggest mistake. He turned his back on Ash's most prideful and currently, angriest Pokémon. Blast had been the loner of the team since Ash won him, he liked to fight, train and nap. But ever since Ash asked him to take Charmander, now Charmeleon, under his metaphorical wing he gained his very first friend. Then this massive beast not only Body Slammed his only friend into what could be a coma, but then turned its back to him. As if Blast wasn't a threat!

Blast was the _biggest_ threat!

The ten foot blue serpent sucked in a breath and roared out with all of its might. Ash turned away slightly from the volume of the roar. The rookie trainer looked up to see that the surrounding clouds started to move away from the immediate area as if the skies itself were trying to escape the dragon's wrath. Golden draconic energy erupted from Blast that cracked the docks beneath him, Ash noted that even the water below the docks were becoming rough under the pressure that Blast was emitting.

Then, Blast exploded in a blinding white light. Ash watched with no small amount of glee as the evolution took affect and Blast continued to roar as he grew from a thin ten foot serpent to a large and powerful fourteen foot in length and a full foot in circumference. When the white light died down Dratini was replaced by a larger and deep blue dragon that held its head higher with his thick and powerful tail swinging lazily behind him.

The formerly small blue scales that covered the dragon grew longer and noticeably thicker, his body still shimmered with the left over power from evolving. Eyes far more intelligent than before looked back at Ash and with a small nod he turn back to Snorlax.

Ash reached into his Pocket when he heard a ding from his Pokédex, it would seem that Blast unlocked his egg move after evolution.

Golden energy exploded out from Blast and with ease that would have been impossible before evolution the power covered every inch of the dragon.

Snorlax's instincts recognized the danger and charged its right fist with even more pale frost energy for a powerful Ice Punch. Even a wild Pokémon without any real training had the survival instincts to know that a dragon wasn't a threat that was shrugged off. Snorlax's Ice Fist was a natural defense it must have picked up in case it ran across one of the dangerous dragon types in the wild.

Ash sucked in a breath when Blast exploded out toward the massive Snorlax in a blur of motion. Distance was crossed in milliseconds and the two monsters readied themselves for the clash. Snorlax pulled its huge fist back and with a roar extended his massive arms with incredible strength.

Blast, covered with with his natural golden energy tackled Snorlax with all of his might. At the same instant a massive white glowing fist slammed into the center of the glowing Dragon Rush attack. A powerful concussive wave of power exploded out from the clash this time taking Ash off of his feet. His ears rang from the loud boom and his eye swam from his head hitting the docks hard wood.

Slowly gathering himself Ash pulled himself back to his feet and looked into the cloud of dust that swirled around the two Pokémon. Ash tried to keep calm but he was worried about how Blast would handle using his new stronger body with an attack he just learned, this could seriously injure him if he was on the losing end of that clash.

When the smoke subsided Ash's eyes widened at the fallout. The docks in the immediate area were in shambles, there were barely any planks intact it was only a miracle that Snorlax's prone body was still held up by the splintered wood. Blast looked at his opponent with a snort before rearing back and letting out the largest and loudest roar he could into the sky to proclaim his victory.

Ash walked forward to his dragon with a grin. "Well done, a little risky using that so soon after evolving but good job none the less."

Blast slithered over to his trainer with his head held high. "Draaaaa" The deeper voice of Dragonair sounded out in response to his trainers comment.

Ash's hand reached out and patted him on the snout. "That was Dragon Rush, I don't think you should use it until you have practice with it Blast." He warned the dragon seriously.

Blast looked like he wanted to argue against that but he doubled over in pain before he could. Ash caught the large dragon and quickly returned him, it would seem that using such a powerful move right after evolving sapped away all of his energy.

Now was the next issue- Snorlax, should he catch it?

Powerful? Obviously. Useful? Very. Expensive to care for? Yup and that was Ash's biggest problem with capturing the Snorlax. The Pokémon League offered a meal plan for owners of Snorlax with a monthly fee where they would teleport capsules with the required amount of nutrients to sustain the massive Pokémon. But of course it wasn't cheap and Ash and his mother weren't wealthy enough to pay for a Snorlax to eat everyday. But he was making decent money in his battles, not to mention the money he has from the tournament in Cerulean City.

Throwing cation to the wind Ash expanded a Pokéball and threw it at Snorlax. The unconscious Pokémon couldn't put up any resistance allowing the ball snapped shut with a successful capture. Ash watched as the ball was teleported away to Professor Oak's computer storage since he was at his maximum carrying capacity.

Umbreon walked over to him, she must have been on the other side of the battlefield because Ash lost sight of her in all the commotion. Reaching down he scratched her ears and started to walk on the leftover planks toward the rest of his Pokémon who were on the shoreline unconscious or in Hydro's case- standing guard.

Ash went to work, it was expensive but he bought several hyper potions at the center before he left Lavender town. Pidgeotto and Charmeleon were definitely going to need some of the top shelf healing as they suffered heavy damage from Snorlax's attacks. Metang only need a super potion and it was good to go. Super effective move or not steel types didn't stay down for long, something that Ash loved about them.

With all of his Pokémon healed up and in their Pokéballs Ash took out his Pokégear to start making calls. First was the Professor.

"Ash! How may I help you today?" The regional professor greeted him with a smile.

Ash rubbed the back of his head with a nervous smile. "Don't, uh, open the Pokéball I just caught." Seeing the professor's questioning look Ash elaborated. "I ran across an angry and hungry Snorlax. I caught it."

Samuel Oak looked at him interested in response. "Well, that is an interesting development indeed and truly fascinating if I may add. You see Gary has just caught a Snorlax himself a few days ago, it too was very angry when Gary came across it. After he healed and fed it it was much more docile and Gary hasn't sent it back to me since."

Ash nodded, "Well that was one of the reason's I called. Blast, my Dratini just evolved during the battle with Snorlax." Oak's eyes shined brightly in response but Ash continued on. "He isn't used to his new body obviously and unlike other Pokémon who's instincts took over he has gained so much power I fear it will take a while for him to get used to it that quickly. I was hoping that you would let him meet your Dragonite and maybe get some tips." Ash finished with a small hopeful voice.

It would be big for Blast if the professor agreed. Samuel Oak's Dragonite was one of the strongest recorded Dragonite's every used in competitive battling. _Maybe_ Lance's infamous shiny Dragonite could match it but that was still a debate that many trainers argued over even to this day.

Oak's face became rigid as he looked into out of a nearby window inscrutably. "If you send your Dragonair to me I will _introduce_ him to Dragonite. But as you no doubt know, dragon's are very particular about who they like to be around and mine is not different. He is a kind Pokémon like his line is known for, but if what you told me about yours is true he won't tolerate being disrespected."

Ash's eyebrows furrowed in worry, he didn't want his dragon ripped in half because he disrespected the older and more powerful Dragonite. Oak saw this and raised his hand to stop Ash from worrying further. "I'm just saying this as a warning, of my team I would say that Dragonite is still one of the kindest overall. Charizard is the one that doesn't like to be bothered by anyone other than me. Old age hasn't helped him become kinder either I'm afraid." Oak chuckled while thinking of his no doubt incredibly powerful starter.

Ash nodded in agreement with the professor, fire types were as one would expect- hotheaded. Mix that with a pseudo dragon like Charizard and it likely was just as temperamental as a dark type.

"Ok professor, I'll be sending Blast over after I speak to him and with him Charmeleon. Charmeleon is Blast's first real friend on the team so I don't want to separate them. In return I would like Snorlax and Pikachu."

Oak nodded and typed a message on his computer that Ash couldn't see. "I will have them both in the trainer storage system I have in place here. As long as they are in their ball and on the shelves I have they can be transferred without any need for me to do anything. Only thing is I usually have them out of their balls during the day so they can exercise in the corral. So if you ever want to have a training session with all your Pokémon tell me and I will put them on the shelf so you can switch back and forth whenever you want."

That was certainly awesome thought Ash, he wouldn't have to worry about training near a Pokémon Center now. Well he still should considering he didn't want to run through all of his potions in training when he may need them later. He'd think more on it later.

"The last thing I wanted to talk to you about was Snorunt." Ash said making Oak nodded sadly.

"Well I have good news and bad news regarding that one." Started Oak making Ash worry. "Nothing terrible heath wise she is still perfectly fine but I think I know how to fix her attitude and her mental health overall."

Ash leaned forward interested, he really wanted her to break out of her shell and join the team.

"She doesn't like to fight." Oak said dropping the bomb. "She is very kind by nature and battling frightens her, she would rather avoid conflict if she has the choice. My Alakazam has been spending time with her since you sent her to me and she has be pretty open about her feelings. Devon Corp probably had one of their experts train her in obedience non stop to get her to be like she is now."

Ash looked down at his hand upset with the news, he would have never thought that one of his Pokémon wouldn't like to battle. Although they were living things with their own dreams and wants and loves and fears, it never really occurred to him before now. Of course all Pokémon didn't want to battle, not every human in the world wanted to be a trainer after all.

"I see," Ash whispered. "I wish she didn't feel this way. But I'm not going to force her to do anything she doesn't want to." He said firmly.

Professor Oak smiled proudly at the rookie trainer. "That was a very mature decision Ash. Not many would let such an obedient and strong Pokémon decide what they were comfortable with."

"Well, tell her that she is free to stay out of her ball, and if it is ok with you she can live in the corral." Suggested Ash and Oak nodded with a smile.

"I'll have Alakazam continuing speaking with her more and if she wants to stay I'll let her stay with the others in the coral. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Ash shook his head. "I'll be speaking with Blast and Charmeleon before I switch them with Pikachu and Snorlax in a bit other than that no."

Oak nodded, "Give me a few minutes to get Pikachu back in his ball then you'll be set."

Ending the call Ash took out Blast's and Charmeleon's Pokéball then released the two Pokémon. Charmeleon shook his head when he was released from his ball, the last thing the fire type remembered was being smashed by the massive Snorlax and blacking out.

Blast looked around calmly, his new form making the dragon look far more regal than the thinner form he had before. When Charmeleon saw Blast he shouted out toward his friend and mentor in awe making Blast whack him on the head lightly in exasperation.

Ash snorted at the display. "Okay you two, I'm going to send you to Oak's." The two looked like they were about to protest but the trainer raised his hand to stop them. "This is to give you both some time to train in peace. The corral is huge and is filled with other Pokémon." They perked up at the mention of other Pokémon and Ash knew what he had to do next.

His face became serious as he rose higher to establish himself as the alpha. Both Pokémon acknowledged his authority and lowered their heads slightly. Ash saw this and let out an unnoticed breath, he wasn't sure how this was going to go with Blast so he was pleasantly surprised that his prideful dragon acknowledged him as his leader.

"I will not have you two attacking Pokémon and disrupting the peaceful corral to satisfy your lusts for battle. I'm already upset with Umbreon for that very thing." Blast let out a snort that Ash ignored. "You can battle each other and practice your moves but don't battle anyone that doesn't agree. The last thing you want is one of the professor's Pokémon from his team coming to confront you. Am I understood?"

Both Pokémon nodded and called out in an affirmative.

"Good. For the time you are there Charmeleon I want you to work on Flamethrower. Increase its power and intensity and most important, your control over the flames. Battle with Blast whenever both of you have time." Charmeleon nodded and Ash recalled the fire type.

Ash turned to Blast, "I spoke with the professor, he is going to introduce you to his Dragonite." Blast perked up interested, Ash decided to quell the dragon's predictable thoughts of challenging the older dragon before they started.

"Let me warn you, that Dragonite is still one of the most powerful dragon Pokémon in the world. So treat it with respect, it will help you control your new powerful form. Also while you are there, I want you to work on Dragon Dance, it will increase your offensive capabilities for a short while. But focus on mastering Twister, Dragon Rage and Dragon Rush in your stronger body first. That is the most important, also work through your other attacks to make sure you can still use them effectively."

"Goon!" Blast shouted to his trainer looking more determined than ever. Ash smiled and reached out to pat the dragon before returning him to his ball.

Taking out his Pokégear he typed into the devise and opened the Pokémon transfer app. Both of his Pokémon that were in storage had a transfer option next to their profile. Ash sent his two Pokémon over to Oak then transferred Pikachu and Snorlax back to him.

Putting Pikachu's ball on his belt for the moment, Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned Snorlax's ball to get a read of his newest Pokémon.

 _Snorlax, the sleeping Pokémon. Its stomach is said to be incomparably strong. Even Muk's poison is nothing more than a hint of spice on Snorlax's tongue. This Snorlax is Male._

 _Known Moves - Defense Curl, Yawn, Rest, Body Slam, Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Hyper Beam. Ability - Thick Fat._

"Impressive." Whispered Ash before putting Snorlax's ball on his last open belt spot before taking his Pokégear back out.

Dialing the number for the Pokémon League he waited for someone to answer.

"This is the Pokémon League Kanto Office. How may I help you?" A Women's voice came over the phone with a polite attitude.

"This is Ash Ketchum- trainer number 438297." Ash heard typing from the other end of the call, he waited for her to pull up his profile before continuing. "I would like to register for the Snorlax meal plan."

"I understand," Said the women. "That will be a monthly payment plan of two thousand five hundred dollars, will that be acceptable?" She asked with her default politeness still rapidly typing into her keyboard.

Groaning at the price Ash swallowed then responded. "Yes."

"Okay. We'll be sending you a meal case with seven slots. Every week it will refill with food, the league is not responsible for any lost food. All extra food beyond the seven given weekly will be an additional eight hundred and fifty dollars. The payments can be automatically payed from your trainer account. Would you like to select this payment plan?"

Ash nodded once again. "Yes I would."

"Then that is everything we need. Ash Ketchum- trainer id 438297, you're in the League's database for the standard Snorlax meal plan. Thank you for calling, have a pleasant day." The call was ended and Ash sighed at the constant drain to his funds.

' _Well, Snorlax was one of the Pokémon I was going to look for before I left for my journey. Like with Blast, I didn't expect to get one this early. But I'm glad I won that tournament in Cerulean so that I have enough money for a while._ '

Thanking Professor Oak's setup for automatically healing the Pokémon that Ash caught he released the massive Pokémon. He was going to wait for the food case before releasing the Pokémon but thankfully, the professor gave him the first meal at the corral right after they hung up their call. Ash didn't bother wondering why the professor had a Snorlax amount of food at the ready or one of the League's extremely dense meals that they would be sending him but he wasn't going to be upset about it.

Snorlax's ever squinting eyes blinked at his new surroundings before looking down and catching sight of the human that he attacked in his hungry rage earlier. Feeling terrible, Snorlax pulled the human into a warm hug.

Ash winced at the extremely tight hug but allowed it to continue. "Nice to meet you Snorlax! My name is Ash and I'm your new trainer!"

Snorlax laughed whole heartily and continued to hug the human with a large smile on his face.

"Training with me will be tough Snor." Snorlax tilted his head at the name to which the still held Ash shrugged. "Thought it'd be a good nick name, if you don't like it I'll stop."

Snorlax shook his head chuckling then finally released Ash from his hold. "Thank you." Muttered Ash. "Now, as a Pokémon in my team I expect you to work hard and train with the rest of my Pokémon. With me you will have plenty of food everyday and can relax whenever we're not battling or training. Fair?"

Snorlax slapped his massive stomach and nodded. Ash grinned, he was going to make sure that every Pokémon he caught wanted to battle so that he didn't make a Pokémon miserable by forcing them.

"Well, I'll introduce you to the team and then we can get a move on toward Vermillion."

* * *

Another week of training and traveling followed. Ash took to only training one or two Pokémon at a time rather than all six at once so that he could focus on them better. Did it take more time, sure, but it would help Ash spot imperfections or mistakes in his teams moves or new techniques.

Right now it was Pikachu and Umbreon.

Pikachu was working on mastering the electrical energy in his body to perfect Thunderbolt. Ash watched some battles online of Surge using his ridiculously strong Raichu against challengers. Needless to say what Ash thought was a perfect Thunderbolt was nothing more than an unstable blast of lightning. So for now Ash was having Pikachu use Thundershock with more and more power until he could use it with almost as much power as a weak Thunderbolt with perfect control. Then he would have him work on perfecting Thunderbolt.

After watching video's of Surges battle he learned two things. Surge hit hard and he hit fast. All electric types had tremendous speed and reflexes and the Lightning specialist didn't overlook that. Along with their natural high speed stat was their large special attack levels. Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Discharge, Thunder, all were powerful attacks that Surge was quite liberal with in battle.

Pikachu's lightning rod ability made all of those attack worthless but in return Pikachu couldn't really use his Electric attacks against the lightning gym so he was mostly here to train and to prepare his team for battling electric types. Pikachu was without a doubt his fastest and most agile Pokémon at the moment so he'd help getting his team ready to keep pace with the electric types.

Umbreon was one of the Pokémon that he was going to use in the gym battle. For the upcoming battle he was having her practice the move Dig. It was a strong ground type attack that would also serve as a good escape from attacks she couldn't outrun.

So far Umbreon was just digging holes as fast as she could. It wasn't a quick method but it was all Ash could figure out for a way to teach such a simple move. From what his mother and his Pokédex research said after a while Umbreon would start channeling ground type energy into her claws to increase her digging speed.

I didn't hurt that Umbreon's irritation and constant whining was fairly amusing to him and it was her punishment for annoying the professor and the Pokémon at the corral.

"Pikachu!" Shouted Ash getting his small rodent to shoot over to him and look up attentively. "In the coming days I will have you battle with Umbreon, Metang and Snorlax to get them ready for our gym battle in a few weeks."

"Pika!" Saluted Pikachu.

Ash smiled down at his little electric type. "Great, for now I'll keep you out so you can work on Thundershock. I want you to practice firing Thundershock rapid pace as accurately as possible, aim for branches."

Pikachu shot away toward his wooded area to practice. Ash grinned at the little guys spunk then walked over to his frustrated dark type.

Before speaking up he suppressed his amusement as best he could. "How's it coming Umbreon?"

A withering glare met his eyes and Ash tried not to laugh but he could tell Umbreon saw through his crumbling expression.

"Well, keep working on it." Umbreon hissed at the half assed help making Ash bark out a laugh. "From what I've been reading on Dig it is best to surround your claws before starting to dig. Ground type energy is strong and sturdy, try and think that like that when forming the energy."

Umbreon nodded and went back to digging, no new progress but she looked more focused than before.

Ash rocked in place quietly for a few moments, "Welp, not much to do now." Ash muttered to himself. At first training only two Pokémon was a good idea since he was able to focus on Pikachu's Thundershock and tutoring Umbreon but that was a few days ago. At this point, there wasn't much for Ash to do training wise now it was more repetition and practice.

Shrugging Ash tossed out Snorlax's Pokéball. The massive Pokémon landed with enough force to shake the earth beneath him. Squinting eyes stared down at Ash inquisitively, since joining the team Snor had proved to be a very reliable Pokémon. He was hardworking and attentive to his instructions.

"I think move wise you're ok for the most part. But I want to work on your endurance, you're not going to like it." Prefaced Ash to the large normal type who nodded to his trainer. "I want you to run."

Snorlax narrowed his eye brows at the request. Ash elaborated, "Just around the area for a few laps. Time doesn't matter I only want you to go non stop. Even the slowest jog is enough, I want ten laps with no stopping after that I want ten push ups."

Snorlax bounded off with earth rumbling stomps making Ash laugh a bit. ' _For now this is comical, but after a few months of this routine…My Snor will be the most agile Snorlax in the world. Probably._ '

Ash found himself in a similar conundrum, "Well, Snor will be at that for a while." Tapping his knees idly for a moment he rolled his eyes and tossed out the rest of his team.

Metang, Hydro and Pidgeotto materialized and stared across the clearing in alarm. They were obviously shocked that the thousand plus pound Pokémon was currently doing laps.

"Yeah, it's strange but in the long run he'll benefit from it." Ash said getting the attention back on himself. "I want everyone to get back to practicing the moves they were working on before. Metang I want to feel progress on Earthquake by the end of the day, we still have time before the gym battle but I want it mastered for Surge."

Metang flew off to work on the ground type attack. So far Ash could only feel a rumble in the ground and that was quite far off from the ground shattering Earthquake he wanted. They had time before the deadline so he wasn't worried.

"Hydro and Pidgeotto, unfortunately the both of you won't be much help in the next gym battle." Both looked down sad that they were useless for the upcoming battle. "Now it is just because both of you are weak to electric type attacks not because you're weak Pokémon. For now we can work on other things, Pidgeotto you're making progress on Brave bird I think you started taking on the golden glow for a moment the other day. Keep it up and you'll have it battle ready in a week or two."

Pidgeotto chirped and flew up to begin to working on the powerful flying type move.

"Hydro," The water type saluted making Ash smirk. "Iron defense was an easy one, but I'll admit that you finished it quicker than I expected. I think it is time to work on your power, not that you're weak but for now and until you evolve you will work on increasing your attack power. I would work on building power for moves slowly adding more and more every time. Then we can work on the speed in which you use attacks but for now we'll work on power."

Ash nodded to himself when Hydro got to work on increasing the power behind his Water Pulse attack. His team was nothing if not diligent in their training, fortunately that helped with them getting stronger. Unfortunately for him, after giving instructions and tips he didn't have much to do.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Umbreon walked up next to him and sat down in a huff. Ash sat down on the ground next to her and reached out to pat her on the head, she'd been working hard for the day may as well let her rest.

"Tomorrow you can keep working on it." Umbreon huffed again. "Oh don't be like that, this move will be very helpful in future battles." Before Umbreon could begin to pout he started scratching behind her ears getting the dark type to purr.

Their relaxing moment was interrupted by several ground shaking stomps, looking over they saw Snor was working on lap number two.

"At least he hasn't quit." Joked Ash getting a glare from the dark type.

* * *

Vermillion City was just as impressive as Pewter and Cerulean City, large buildings toward the northern border. The eastern and southern edges were lined with docks and a massive shipyard, it stretched on for so long that from where he was Ash could even see it all.

In the distance Ash spotted a large dome shaped building with a red roof. With the center in sight Ash set off to get his team checked on. He spent nearly a month training on the way to Vermillion with his team.

Metang had mastered Earthquake with moderate speed, his skill with the attack was ready for Surge and with a few more sessions of working on the ground type attack Ash was sure that his Hoenn Pokémon will mastered the move.

Snorlax didn't learn any new moves but managed to increase his stamina and the speed in which he built up the power of his attacks. Ice and Fire punch were attack ready in one and one quarter second, it was slow compared to Blast who could fire a Dragon Rage nearly instantly but for the massive beast that was Snorlax it was half of what he was capable of when Ash first caught him.

Of the three he planned to use for Lt. Surge, Ash thought Umbreon was the most prepared. She mastered Dig to a point that she could likely keep pace with a ground type with the move. Her speed was the best out of the three as well, so Ash was sure that she would be able to take out one of Surge's Pokémon.

Pidgeotto was able to successfully use Brave Bird now, while she couldn't snap a tree in half from the force of the attack yet she was getting close. Unfortunately the damage she received from the attack was a little too much for her to use the move too often in a battle. Ash learned that particular information after battling trainers on the road to Vermillion City. While for the most part a one hit knockout on the Pokémon she'd used it on she was noticeable pained after every use. Ash would begin working on her resistances after the gym battle until she evolved. Pidgeot was bulkier than her current form so she would be able to manage to move better, for now it would be her ace in the hole.

Hydro and Pikachu didn't learn any new moves but were getting close to completely mastering the ones that they currently knew. Pikachu was to the point that his Thunderbolt was starting to resemble the tight bolt of lightning that it was supposed to be all along. Much improvement from the fat unstable attack that it was during Misty's gym battle. Hydro was increasing his water attack's strength and the speed in which he used them, Ash was sure that he would be able to shatter boulders with a Water Gun once he evolved if he kept improving at this rate.

Blast and Charmeleon also spent some time with him during the training and travel. From what Oak told him, Blast was trying as best as he could to keep up with Dragonite's lessons but was still too weak to participate. Apparently failing to even keep up with the older dragon's warm up put a fire in the already hardworking Pokémon's belly. Ash was pleased to see that Blast was mastering the dragon type moves he already knew before evolving at impressive speeds.

Charmeleon was progressing well, battling Blast nearly everyday helped his battle instincts tremendously. From Charmeleon's battles with traveling trainers he saw that the fire type could tell when his Flamethrower needed to be at full power or a widespread distraction without Ash needing to tell him. Ash was happy with his fire types progress and would be using him to take down the grass princess Erika after Lt. Surge.

The last Pokémon he owned, Snorunt, was spending time in the corral with Oak's Alakazam and with Charmeleon from what Ash heard from his mother. While her personality hasn't changed and likely wouldn't, she was starting to watch Blast and Charmeleon battle. Ash would never push her to do something she was uncomfortable with but if she got over her fear of battling, he would be very happy to add her to the team.

Ash was brought out of his thoughts when he arrived at the Vermillion Pokémon center. Unlike the ones he had been to in the past, this one was packed. Injured Pokémon held by their trainers, several Pokémon nurses and doctors rushing around the center with two nurse joy's at the front desk doing their best to calm the frantic trainers after their devastating loses to Lt. Surge.

"We meet again."

Turning to the voice that addressed him Ash saw the purple haired trainer that he won Blast off of standing next to him.

Ash smirked at the guy, "Nice to see you again, Ash Ketchum, I don't think we introduced ourselves in the forest last time." It wasn't true, Ash had just forgotten his name.

Paul seemed to realize that and snorted at the trainer. "Paul," His voice was tight and the same serious expression came over his face. "I expect you're here to battle Surge?"

"Yup, I wanted to get my Pokémon checked on first." Nodded Ash. "Did you already battle him?"

Paul nodded while looking around the center disdainfully. "Of course, I'm here to pick up a member of my team that was badly paralyzed. The sooner I leave this place the better, all these moaning losers give me a headache."

As mean as what Paul was saying was, Ash had to agree. Looking around Ash didn't spot a single Pokémon he'd ever consider battling the lightning specialist with. Too many weak un-evolved Pokémon or those with type disadvantages. "Not everyone can be a winner." Shrugged Ash.

"You're right about that Ash." Another recognizable voice hit Ash's ears.

Paul seemed to recognize Gary on sight making him wonder how the two knew each other. Ash expected they'd have battled in the past and he was honestly curious about who won between the two of them. Both were the only trainers that gave him good battles, Ritchie was a good battle too.

"Paul." Gary greeted.

Paul eyed Gary for a moment before giving a tight nod. "Oak."

Ash nodded at the two and slid away, if he wanted his Pokémon checked on soon he'd need to do it now. The nurse Joy didn't even greet him with her normal kind attitude, these two were exhausted and clearly tired of consoling trainers.

Ash didn't want to waste their time. "My Pokémon have been training hard, I just need a quick check up." Ash handed his belt over and the Joy's eyes lit up thankfully.

"You should have seen some of the losers that came through here earlier." Snorted Gary while he was talking to Paul. Ash walked over and stood with the only people he knew in the center.

Right at that moment Gary took out his Thunder badge to show it off. "Surge was tough for sure but the only Pokémon that gave me trouble was Electrode. Little bastard used Self-destruct to take out my Ivysaur." Gary grunted to himself while Ash made a note of the tactic he was likely to see in his battle.

Paul snarled in agreement. "His Voltorb did the same to me, he only brought it out to take out my Magmar with Self-destruct."

Gary turned to Ash with a questioning look. "How was your gym battle Ashy boy?"

"He hasn't done it yet." Paul answered for him.

Ash nodded toward the Oak, "I've been training my team pretty hard so I wanted to get them checked on before I battled him. I just got to town today." Explained Ash.

"Took your time getting here huh." Gary snorted. "Well I guess I'll have to watch your battle with Surge then. I want to get a look at that team of yours before the S.S. Anne tournament."

Paul nodded next to the Oak. "I don't plan on losing to you again Ketchum. I've got a ace in the hole myself now."

While that interested Ash he heard his name being called over the PA and went to get his Pokémon.

Nurse Joy tiredly handed him his belt, "Your team is perfectly health, while tired and sore from training it was nothing our machines couldn't fix up real quick." She informed him before shooting off to help the next trainer who looked to have a Pokémon that was fried by lightning.

Ash put his belt back on and made his way out of the center to take on Surge.

Someone threw their arm around his shoulder, it was Gary. "Let's see how you take down Surge Ashy boy."

Paul was quietly walking next to him but looked no less interested. Ash couldn't stop them so he just shrugged, not like his team was a secret or anything. He used most of them in the Cerulean Tournament anyway.

* * *

"Here it is!" Gary announced while gesturing to the square shaped building with large Pokémon League emblems decorating the front. Not as flashy as Cerulean nor as large as Pewter but Ash could tell that it would be much harder fight to get his badge this time than the previous two.

"Thanks Gary, I couldn't have figured that out on my own." Joked Ash before walking through the large doors.

"NEXT!" A booming voice echoed out into the lounge. A girl close to the stairs flinched and scurried up them to the arena looking more like a frightened bunny than a trainer.

Like the center, there were many injured Pokémon being handled and treated by their trainers. While these trainers used potions to quickly heal them, he could spot several League officials trying to calm frantic rookies so they could make their way back to the center. A typical day in the Vermillion City Pokémon Gym.

"Looks like Surge is having a good time." Snorted Gary as he walked with Ash and Paul to the official standing by the stairs.

The man looked up tiredly at the three arrivals, when he caught sight of Gary and Paul he smirked. "You two are back huh? He was in quite a fit after he lost to you two the other day."

"No, I already have my badge." Answered Paul typical of his natural attitude. Gary nodded and pushed Ash forward.

Rebalancing himself he looked at the official, "I'm here for my battle, I have two badges. Name is Ash Ketchum."

The man nodded and thumbed through his device. "Well, Ms. Rose is the only trainer ahead of you and she just went up-"

"NEXT!"

"-Right this way Mr. Ketchum." The man gestured for the stairs and Ash climbed them without hesitation. Paul and Gary right on his heels.

"Quick tip, he always uses Thunderbolt first." Gary whispered as the battlefield came into sight. Ash nodded and walked over to his sided of the battle field while they went to the stands.

The stands weren't large only big enough to fit about a dozen people. While Gary and Paul took their seats Ash took in the field. It was covered in battle damage still smoking from the thousands of volts of electricity repeatedly crashing into the floor. The field that was untouched was tan and flat, unlike Cerulean that catered to water types or Pewter and its rocky field, Surge chose to have a flat level field likely to give his Pokémon the open space to move about.

Lt. Surge didn't seem to notice him as he was typing into his Pokégear in his trainer square. He was an incredibly intimidating figure, standing six foot nine over three hundred pounds with about four percent body fat. He wore a blond flat top hair cut and had a green camouflage shirt with black army cargo pants.

"Name?" Surge grunted still not looking up.

"Ash Ketchum." Forced out Ash, he was slowly learning that top level trainers weren't always that respectful to rookies. First Agatha and now the electric master of Vermillion, he'd push most of his anger away considering Surge has likely crushed over a hundred trainers today so he was likely bored.

Surge put his Pokégear in his pocket and looked up. "It says that you have two badges, so this will be three on three I can't switch but you can. I'll release my Pokémon first."

The first Pokémon Surge released was a floating Magneton that blinked and hovered over the field waiting for it's opponent. Ash thought for a moment, Magneton was a ranged fighter, electric and steel type so he'd go with Snorlax. Fire Punch would take care of this pretty quick.

Ash reached back and tossed out the Pokéball with his massive Pokémon who landed with a boom. Snor's squinting eyes glared at his opponent and waited for the battle to start.

Surge had the first bit of interest flash across his face. "Interesting, and I was half expecting a Horsea." He laughed actually seeming interested in the battle.

"Hit it with a Thunderbolt!" Boomed Surge with his floating Pokémon listening immediately.

"Take it and move close for Fire Punch." Ash said lowly so Surge couldn't hear.

The yellow lightning bolt formed and struck Snorlax almost instantly. The massive Pokémon grunted at the attack but continued to move forward. Everyone in attendance were shocked at the Snorlax's mobility, it was about as fast as a crawl it was far more that their species were known for.

Magneton charged up another Thunderbolt just as fast as the last one. The room filled with static as a powerful Thunderbolt slammed into Snorlax with thundering force. It was nothing that the huge Pokémon couldn't take as he entered close enough range for a Fire Punch.

Surge ordered Magneton to maneuver away from the Snorlax and the electric type lazily moved away from the massive flaming fist and began to charge up another Thunderbolt.

Ash expected the first attack would miss, and so did Snor. That was why he charged up his left fist at the same time as the other and right as Magneton was about attack his fist shot forward with unnatural speed for a Pokémon as large and slow as Snorlax.

Magneton couldn't even brace for the incredible attack as he was launched back onto the ground. The force behind the attack was enough that the electric type didn't stop after hitting the ground and bounced then smashed into the back wall of the gym. Ash winced at the damage but didn't hold back his grin when Snor came stomping over to him.

"Great job, it seems that we were smart to prepare your left arm." Snorlax rumbled out a laugh while he slapped his huge gut cheerfully.

"How about that." Surge recalled his Magneton with an amused hum. "I guess you aren't one of the many scrubs that come to my gym hoping for a free ticket for the S.S. Anne tournament. You actually have some skill." The huge Gym leader actually looked at him with a grin as he tossed out his next Pokémon.

Ash analyzed the Manectric that stood at the ready. The blue canine Pokémon had yellow spikes of hair sticking straight up on the top of his head and on its sides right before its hind legs began. It looked strong and the tight muscles coiled with every small movement it made, power and speed was the cornerstone of all of Surge Pokémon.

Instead of continuing with Snorlax Ash recalled large Pokémon and tossed out Umbreon's ball. His pitch black Pokémon shook her head as she was released from her ball then glared across at her opponent. Ash knew that of the three he planned to use Umbreon was the fastest so he was hoping that she would be able to keep up with Manectric well enough to take it down.

"Agility- Thunderwave- Heatwave- Thunder Fang!" Rapid fire orders sounded out of Surge to his Pokémon making Ash's head spin.

"Umbreon, Blitz to keep distance. Dark Pulse after the heatwave!" Ash wasn't sure how easily an agility enhanced Manectric could keep up with a quick attack and agility enhanced Umbreon but he knew it would be close.

The blue and yellow cabin blinked into motion, Ash only had Pikachu's incredible speed to thank for his ability to follow the blur of movement. Umbreon followed suit with blitz, the combination of speed techniques gave her the speed to avoid the wave of paralysis inducing static energy.

Manectric and Surge didn't seem fazed by the missed Thunderwave as Manectric continued to blur around the field. Umbreon's blitz technique ended bringing her speed down to her normal levels.

"Charge up a Dark Pulse and wait for Manectric to stop!"

The lightning canine stopped moving in the moonlight Pokémon's blindspot. Before either Ash or Umbreon could respond the space around Manectric shimmered with extreme levels of heat that shot forward in a wave burning Umbreon's skin making her hiss angrily.

The dark type spun on her heel with pitch black energy swirling around her jaw. Manectric, was unable to move in time to avoid the beam of dark energy and was hit on the side getting a yelp from the electric type. Umbreon narrowed her eyes at her opponent and snarled as she took off in another blitz attack.

Following its masters orders- Manectric's fangs crackled with yellow sparks. Umbreon's agility enhance Quick attack barreled into the electric type with enough force to send the two canine like Pokémon tumbling across the field. Manectric's neck shot out and bit Umbreon's neck with a powerful Thunder Fang that drew blood from the dark type.

Ash called out to Umbreon worried that she was too hurt to continue. Manectric continued to bite down as hard as it could trying to do as much damage as it could.

Umbreon's pain filled howl tore through the arena making Ash's fist clench. He was about to recall her from the battle but her crimson eyes glowed with psychic power, Confusion assaulted Manectric's mind allowing her to escape.

Blood dripped from Umbreon's neck from the injury. A thin purple mist started to rise off of her body as her species natural defense started to activate. In the wild an Umbreon that was attacked by a larger and stronger predator would secrete poisonous sweat to fend off attackers or kill them if they got too close.

While the brutal Thunder Fang did enough damage for Ash to consider taking her out of the battle the poison coursing through Manectric's body would soon take it out as well making the match a tie.

That was, if Umbreon didn't have a way to regain her strength. "Moonlight then Dig."

Lt. Surge wasn't a rookie nor did he not know what the move Moonlight was. "Thunder! Take that thing out!"

Ash's eyes widened at the powerful Electric attack and tried to call out for Umbreon to blitz away from the yellow beam of lightning energy. Ash's eyes burned from the bright attack that filled the room with the smell of ozone, all the hairs on Ash's body stood on end from the static that filled the room. His nerves screamed at him to run from the immediate area, as soon as his instincts screamed at him to run they stopped and an ear piercing boom followed by a blast of concussive energy that smacked into Ash and Surge. The large gym leader did seem fazed by the fallout but Ash was nearly knocked off of his feet.

When the bright light from the Thunder attack died down he saw his girl prone on the ground twitching from the residual static cousin through her body. Recalling her he stared out at Manectric who was swaying on its feet. The strain of the Thunder attack no doubt sped up the poison coursing through its body, Ash would give it a minute tops.

Surge seemed to recognize that and recalled Manectric. "Both of our Pokémon are out I'm on my last you have two left." A savage grin broke out on his face as he tossed out another Pokéball. An absolutely massive Raichu landed on Surge's side of the field with the same grin as its trainer.

"Sorry in advance, Raichu here is at a five badge level. But all my others are too tired to battle." The grin on his face made Ash think he wasn't sorry.

Trying to play it off like he wasn't worried Ash shrugged. "Good, I was a little underwhelmed by the big bad Lt. Surge."

Snor emerged from his Pokéball right in front of Raichu looking unintimidated by the large rodent that was glaring up at the massive Pokémon.

"Charge energy slowly." Ordered Ash knowing that he'd need to time Hyper Beam perfectly for it to hit the no doubt fast Raichu.

"Mega Punch- Thunderbolt- Mega Kick- Thunder!"

Unlike Manectric that needed to process the rapid orders Raichu blitzed into motion with a glowing fist poised to strike almost instantly. Snorlax didn't need an order to know what to do as his right fist lit with pale mist to ready an Ice Punch.

The two attacks met with a loud bang, dust and small shards of the shattered battlefield were picked up by the force of the attack. The Raichu was well trained and a physical anomaly among its species but it was no match for the immense natural strength of a Snorlax, and Ash has had his Snor doing push ups everyday for a month. So his Snorlax was an outlier among his species as well.

The large lightning rodent was pushed back and sparked dangerously with yellow sparks of electricity. A Thunderbolt tore through the air between Raichu and Snorlax in an instant knocking the normal type back from the sheer force of the attack.

Ash waited for Raichu to close the distance to attack with the Mega Kick, Surge was obviously hoping that the fighting type attack would take down Snorlax. But when Snor had an opening he'd release the massive orange energy beam to end Raichu.

"Zap Cannon."

That wasn't part of the list of commands! Ash screamed out for Hyper Beam, Snor's slow charge that he was building throughout the battle thus far was enough to release the dense orange energy beam.

Raichu raised both arms and gathered black energy in a condensed ball of power, at the apex of charging yellow static arced across the ball of deadly lightning. Despite being smaller than the average bowling ball, the Zap Cannon attack was charged with so much electric power that Ash could feel the static crawling over his skin.

Snorlax and Raichu shot their strongest attacks at the same time toward each other.

Silence spread across the arena the instant the attacks met. The two opposing attack molded into a combined ball of the two energies that stayed together for a single moment before exploding out releasing a powerful shockwave that blew all of the loose ruble around the field away. Ash's eye burned from the flash of the explosion and he reached back for Snorlax's ball in case the massive Pokémon didn't come out of that exchange on top.

A loud crash sounded out and when Ash's vision cleared of the bright spots he saw a triumphant Surge and Raichu still standing and an unconscious Snorlax snoring away as it used rest to recuperate his energy.

Knowing that Snor was out of the fight Ash recalled him. "To think that a natural Hyper Beam would lose out to Zap Cannon." he growled as he put his Pokémon's ball back on his belt.

"Ah ha!" Booming laughter sounded out form Surge when he heard Ash's snarl. "I told you, Raichu here is at a fifth badge level. But I will say that your Snorlax gave her a run for her money." A nod of respect came from Surge after that statement.

Ash threw out his last Pokémon's ball and Metang roared out with its metallic voice. A wave of confidence washed over Ash as he felt his steel and psychic type's emotion through their link.

Surge looked at Metang analytically clearly interested in Ash's final choice. Most who got this far usually went with a ground or rock type.

"This is it, our last Pokémon each."

Ash nodded, "Confusion- Psyshock- Metal Claw- new move!" This time it was Ash that roared out a rapid barrage of attacks and his Pokémon tearing into action.

Metang's red eyes glowed with power and before Raichu could move the large rodent stumbled in place as its mental faculties were assaulted by Metang. The steel and psychic Pokémon raised both of its massive metal arms as they glowed with pink psychic power for Psyshock.

Raichu regained its mental function fast enough to meet the psychic attack with a Thunderbolt that ripped through Psyshock with ease then continuing on toward Metang. The yellow bolt of lightning crashed into the Hoenn Pokémon causing static to spread across the blue steel type Pokémon showing the telltale signs of paralysis.

"New Move!" Shouted Ash worried that Raichu's overwhelming power was going to take out Metang before it could use their trump card.

A metallic roar tore from the throat of the steel and psychic type as it broke through paralyzation to attack its opponent. The ground of the entire arena trembled for a second before it violently shook forming deep cracks in the foundation of the battle field. Raichu wasn't able to keep its balance under the powerful ground type attack and fell on its face suffering more damage in its prone form.

Ash himself stumbled under the surprisingly strong attack but managed to steady himself to see that Raichu was wide open. "Flash Cannon!" He roared, this was it! He could see Raichu's end in his minds eye and a gleaming Thunder badge right above it.

The rookie and Metang ignored Lt. Surge's screams of warning and calls for Thunderbolt and proceeded to unleash the powerful steel type attack. Raichu tried to regain balance and force itself to its feet but was unable to in time. Metang's mouth opened and charged with silver energy that condensed into a baseball size orb that shot out in a thin but dense beam of power.

Raichu looked up in time to see the incoming attack, Ash and everyone else watched as Raichu was blasted across the battlefield right into Surges waiting arms who didn't even budge from the force.

Ash slowly came to his senses when he realized what just happened. "Great job Metang!" He shouted at his Pokémon who flew back over to him with a pleased hum.

A wave of happiness and triumph washed over Ash making him reach out and pat his team member on the head. That was an incredible battle and he was pleased to see that Metang came through in the end.

"Not bad," Surge said as he walked over to him with the yellow rodent riding on his shoulder, Raichu looked good as new as if it wasn't just nailed in the chest be a powerful steel type energy beam. "Nothing a Full Restore couldn't fix." Shrugged the gym leader.

"So you beat me, while I was using a stronger than what you were prepared for Pokémon." Lt. Surge eyed him for a minute taking in all of Ash's features memorizing every detail. "I'll be sure to root for you in the tournament! Make me some money!" Surge laughed as he smacked a huge meaty hand onto Ash's back making him stumble under the weight.

Ash winced a bit but laughed along with the gym leader. "Thanks! I doubt I would have done as well as I did had I not spent the past few weeks training on the way here to face you."

"I could tell," Surge said then eyes took on a glint as he looked at the much smaller trainer. "What kind of electric type do you have? Your Pokémon were able to follow the quick movements of mine pretty well."

Ash smirked up at Surge. "My Pikachu could give that Manectric a serious run for its money in the speed department."

Surge snorted out another laugh. "Oh I bet it could considering that Umbreon of your was keeping up with him pretty well. What technique was that? It wasn't just a quick attack was it?" Fished Surge likely trying to add such a move to his arsenal.

"Oh just this and that, she's a quick one." Ash replied mysteriously, he'd need to keep his secrets secrets unless he wanted potential opponents using them against him.

The large gym leader rolled his eyes and fished around in his pocket for an envelope. "Here we are, inside is your badge, prize money and ticket for the ship's tournament. The ticket gets you a room in the moderate level rooms, not bottom tier nor the top. It was why I had to go so hard, Silph Co didn't want chumps in their tournament."

Ash took the envelope and slip it into his backpack. "Awesome."

"Now the boat will leave in about two days. You need to be on board by noon or else you're shit out of luck. The tournament will be in the arena the second day of the voyage. Silph Co said that the winner gets some pretty awesome shit as does second and third place." Surge informed him while patting his huge Raichu on his shoulder similar to how Ash would when Pikachu didn't like his ball. "From what I hear some pretty big shots will be aboard; myself, the president of Silph Co and Lance is rumored to be there for. The league doesn't want to risk the president of Silph Co's safety."

Of course not, the biggest and most powerful company in the world wouldn't want the second biggest to fall. It would show that they weren't the invisible entities that they appeared to be which could cause a panic in people who have been noticing the rise in organized crime in the Kanto/Johto region. Naturally the champion of _both_ regions was personally going to see to such a task.

"Well I'll be sure to let Lance know who's going to replace him." Ash boasted getting another laugh out of Surge, this time it was more kind that intimidating.

"Good luck with that, you beat this Raichu." Surge Said pointing to the one on his shoulder. "She's the daughter of my starter, you beat _him_ and I'll give you my vote of confidence in eventually becoming a champion. Till then your a talented prospect like those two." Surge pointed over to Paul and Gary who were in an intense debate as they approached.

Before Ash or Surge could say anything Gary yelled out. "Ash! Your Snorlax's Ice Punch, is it stronger than that Fire Punch from earlier? This guy keeps saying that if you used a Fire Punch on Raichu it would have burned it enough so as to give Snorlax enough time to take it out with that Hyper Beam."

Ash shook his head toward his fellow Pallet town trainer, he noted that Surge was still standing there, interested in his answer. "While Fire Punch is stronger at the moment, Snorlax wouldn't have been able to form it in time to hit Raichu. But I doubt that Raichu would have been so hindered that Snorlax could have out sped it with Hyper Beam." That apparently didn't satisfy the two as they went back to talking about the battle and what Ash did wrong, wasn't it enough that he won?

"He's right," Surge said suddenly making all three trainers look up at him. "Raichu here would have been able to power through a burn just fine, she's been trained by myself and my strongest Pokémon. A little pain wouldn't slow her down." Raichu nodded along with her trainer from atop his shoulder.

"Whatever," Grunted Paul toward the gym leader before walking off.

Ash watched him go for a moment before shrugging. "Well, I'm going to head to the Pokémon center."

Surge walked off and Gary released a Kadabra that teleported him away without a word. Ash really needed to find out if Metang would be able to teleport him places, not that he was lazy but instantaneous travel seemed pretty awesome.

* * *

Ash thanked the Joy as she handed him back his Pokémon and went over to the lounge to relax. Tomorrow was the day the S.S. Anne would set off and would be the end of his training before the tournament.

So far he was working with Metang on a move that only his species got naturally. Meteor Mash- a powerful steel type move that had a chance to make Metang stronger after using it.

Ash thought it would take longer to learn such a move but Metang seemed to grasp the technique as if Ash had given him a TM with the move. Ever since Ash suggested that Metang learn the attack there was a change in the air around his steel and psychic Pokémon as if it'd been wanting to learn it for a while.

Ash wanted Metand to master the move before he had to board the ship, and at this rate he was sure that Metang had it covered.

Along with Metang's training he was working with the rest of his Pokémon, especially Hydro who's skin was starting to grow patches that were lighter shades of blue. It was a sign that he was close to evolving, probably a few weeks away from the transformation.

Umbreon, now that she had matured enough for her poisonous sweat glands to become active he thought it was time to teach her some poison type moves. Toxic was the only poison type move that she could learn easily since it was so simple, she needed to build up a glob of dark purple poison then spit it at her opponent. He'd need to read about the time of food she should eat to increase her poison's potency but for now what she had was enough.

Pikachu was working on his speed and accuracy now, he'd gotten his electrical energy under a decent amount of control now it would take actual battle experience to perfect it. It would be a while before he added any stronger moves to the yellow rodents arsenal. The incredible Thunder attack would have to wait until a perfect Thunderbolt was effortless for the little guy, he'd need far more control for the powerful move.

Oak was happy to call and tell him that Blast and Charmeleon were making progress. Blast was at a level that he'd be able to battle normally. His sometimes overpowering of moves wasn't a bad thing in a battle, he'd just have to make sure that Blast didn't mess up in forming his attacks and all would be fine. Oak told him that Dragonite found Blast's persistence in getting strong enough for the older dragon's training amusing and would sometimes watch the blue dragon train.

"So I see that you took down the mighty lightning dragon Surge!" A happy voice said from next to him.

Somehow Ash didn't notice Steven Stone sitting on the other side of his couch.

"He wasn't so bad." Shrugged Ash. "Metang was actually the one to win me the battle." He said with a smile.

"Ah ha! Nothing if not reliable that Pokémon!" Nodded Steven, "You ready for the tournament?" He asked the younger trainer curiously.

"Yup, I'm getting my Pokémon ready and Metang should master Meteor Mash by the end of the day. I'm just giving it some time to recuperate, it was very eager to learn the move once I told it that I wanted it to learn it." Ash was still curious about that and he could think of no better person to ask.

Steven's eye brightened after hearing that. "It is likely becoming more and more confident in its abilities. Your Metang is still young, it only evolved a few months ago in Mt. Moon. But learning and mastering Meteor Mash is a big step in becoming strong enough to evolve."

"Cool." Ash said turning away from Steven, if Metang felt stronger then all the more reason to continue his training. After learning Meteor Mash well enough to use it in a battle he'd send it to Oak's and bring back Charmeleon. The fire type could use some one on one training. "Are you going to be on the S.S. Anne?"

Steven shook his head sadly. "No thankfully, that whole thing is going to be a political nightmare. Lance is in a fit because that boat doesn't have enough security and the League can't dish out more ACE trainers. Then Silph decided to announce the prize for first place today making more people flock to the boat. Plus it wouldn't look good if Silph Co's biggest competitor sent the son of their CEO on their crowned jewel."

Politics, Ash didn't have the stomach for it. But two of the most powerful political entities on the planet were going to be on the same boat. Even Ash was starting to get stressed just thinking about it and he didn't have any responsibilities. He felt for Lance who was likely having a meltdown. Lord knew Ash would.

"Well, I'll keep my head down and eyes open. I'm just a rookie so I doubt I'd be much help in any event anyway." Shrugged Ash still thinking about how to train his team tonight.

A hand slapped him on the shoulder. "The tournament is televised so I'll be rooting for ya Ash. And remember to call me when your Metang evolves."

Ash saluted the former Champion. "Will do Steven, so what are you doing in Vermillion anyway if your not going on the S.S. Anne?"

"Oh, I was just wandering the area." The former champion shrugged. "I may have come to ask Lance if he wanted to have a battle." He whispered scandalously.

Ash's eyes widened in shock oh he'd pay thousands to watch that battle. Something of that caliber would likely have the entire world watching on pay per view. Two years ago Champion Cynthia of Sinnoh and Champion Iris of Unova had a battle that the Pokémon League sold on pay per view to which they made billions off of. Both of those champions were relatively new to their position, Iris only got the title a few months before their battle and Cynthia was about two years into hers.

Lance and Steven, they were in a different league. Lance was the champion of _two_ regions and Steven defended his position for ten years after claiming the title at sixteen. Both of them were titans of the trainer world.

"Tell me if you two set that up, I'd like to watch it." Joked Ash.

Steven smirked over in response. "You got it buddy." The former Champion stood from his position on the couch. "I think it's time I left, places to go and all that." Steven said airily before walking off.

As randomly as Steven showed up, he left. Ash wasn't sure when he became friends with such a guy but he sure was an interesting dude. No doubt being incredibly rich and powerful gave one interesting personality quirks.

* * *

 _Author's Notes_

Maybe a bit abrupt but if I kept going I would have likely wrote the entire S.S. Anne arc for the chapter.

Blast evolved and Ash picked up a Snorlax. Route 12 has one of the two Snorlax in the game the only thing is that you need the Pokéflute to wake it up. This time it was awake and angry. Fun right? Yeah it was.

Also, Snor is the nickname of Red's Snorlax in the Pokémon Adventure manga. I saw that when i was looking through the Snorlax profile on bulbapedia and thought it would be a cool thing to add to the story.

I need some OC's for the SS Anne tournament. The best three will get picked. I only need three Pokémon for their team. If I don't like the name I'll change it by the way.

Ash's team and full move list.

 _Hydro_ /Wartortle: Tail Whip, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Withdraw, Water Pulse, Scald, Ice Beam, Brick Break, Protect, Iron Defense.

Pidgeotto: Sand Attack, Peck, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Gust, Steel Wing, Roost, Brave Bird.

Umbreon: Leer, Tackle, Quick Attack, Agility, Iron Tail, Shadow Ball, Moonlight, Confusion, Dark Pulse, Bite, Thunder Fang, Dig, Toxic (not mastered). Combo Moves- Blitz Tail: Combo of Agility, Quick Attack and Iron Tail.

 _Blast_ /Dragonair: Leer, Wrap, Thunderwave, Twister, Dragon Rage, Agility, Iron Tail, Aqua Tail, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Dragon Rush.

Metang: Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Psychic, Psyshock, Flash Cannon, Earthquake, Meteor Mash (not mastered).

Pikachu: Tail Whip, Thundershock, Thunderwave, Growl, Quick Attack, Agility, Iron Tail, Electro Ball, Thunderbolt. Combo Moves: Blitz Tail, Thunder Gavel: Charging a Thunderbolt into Pikachu's body at the same time as Iron Tail then releasing the electrical energy at the exact moment the steel type attack strikes for a powerful hammer strike.

Charmeleon: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage, Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Dragon Claw.

 _Snor_ /Snorlax: Defense Curl, Yawn, Rest, Body Slam, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Hyper Beam.


	7. The Ship

_World of Pokémon #7_

 _Team Rocket._

 _The first iteration of the infamous Criminal Organization was over twenty years ago, right after the league forbade trainers from capturing Pikachu as their population had fallen to record lows. They originally protested league laws barring trainers from catching any Pokémon they wanted, they wanted all trainers to have the freedom to catch whatever Pokémon they wanted whenever they wanted._

 _Nothing came of their protests, the Pokémon League was famous for putting out new laws and regulations and not changing them despite protests. Unless there was a serious scandal they didn't acknowledge the opinions of the people. The most powerful organization in the world didn't consider the average person's complaints as anything more than noise._

 _Not until the signature symbol of the once peaceful protesters, the blue R on Team Rocket's chest, turned red did the voices start being heard and taken seriously. Since then many changes to the Rockets have happened and now their names were synonymous with terrorism._

* * *

The S.S. Anne.

Or as the locals were calling it, the St. Anne. Since it was bringing massive waves of tourists to their local businesses. Was huge. It looked like someone tipped a skyscraper on its side and put it in the water.

The Ship was over half a mile in length and over ten stories high- at least ten stories considering Ash didn't know how deep it went. The sides were a cream color with golden accents decorating the mast, of course the words Silph Company were painted in a very ostentatious golden paint. The multi-trillion dollar company wouldn't spare any expense on their latest crown jewel.

The S.S. Anne was capable of circumnavigating the globe without making port once. Between solar energy and self sustaining gardens inside one of three green rooms located somewhere on the massive ship, could keep thousands comfortable without skipping a beat.

Four separate escalators were attached to the side of the ship so that people could board. ACE trainers and privately paid Silph trainers watching like Staraptor's as every passenger presented their tickets to the officials before boarding. Security was tight with just these measures.

Then there was an absolutely massive Salamance and Dragonite lazily flying over the people courtesy of Champion Lance.

Over ten thousand paid passengers and dozens of wild cards that beat Lt. Surge for tickets. The Champion wasn't taking any chances, he wanted everyone coming aboard the ship to know that the Master of Dragons was here and he wasn't fucking around.

Shaking off the fear of the gliding monsters above him Ash took in their appearance for the very first time in person. He'd seen them in battle before during League sponsored battles and challenges. The two dragons were huge battle hardened monsters likely capable of ripping apart all of the tournament contestants single handedly. It wasn't a gap of power between the Champion and himself Ash now realized.

It was a canyon.

"Ticket please." The man said holding out a hand to Ash.

Ash took out his ticket and tournament pass then handed it to the man.

The man read the ticket and typed into the console next to him. "Ash Ketchum, you're in room four twenty seven. The tournament will begin tomorrow at noon, just go to the arena you couldn't miss it." The man handed him back his ticket. "Your in the database as a contestant along with your picture and trainer I.D. but it is always good to have this just in case."

Ash nodded and stepped passed the man and onto the escalator and slowly ascended toward the gargantuan ship.

Strangely, he was the only one to using this particular escalator, most were by all the gift shops and Silph Co sponsored festival attractions. Ash didn't really care about those kinds of things, he just wanted to get aboard and find his room. Based on the size of the ship it'll likely take all day.

Walking around the deck Ash could see restaurants that were gearing up for the grand opening, toward the middle of the ship he saw the familiar red of a Pokémon Center.

Incredible, their ship didn't just have doctors or nurses on duty for trainers. They built and entire Pokémon Center.

"Why not put a Gym on here as well." Ash laughed to himself as he looked at the large Pokémon Center with two Nurse Joys ordering around the other workers inside.

"They wanted to but I forbade it." A deep and authoritative voice said and Ash turned to the source.

It was a large man easily six foot. He had spiky auburn hair and a blue business suit, nothing about him stood out on first glance but on closure inspection Ash recognized him. It was Lance, he wasn't wearing his tracksuit or cape but this was Lance Wataru the Champion of Kanto and Johto.

The Champion walked over to him an looked inside of the center while standing next to him. "Only Silph could sweet talk the League into allowing themselves a fully functional Pokémon Center aboard their monstrosity."

It would seem that Lance didn't much care for the S.S. Anne. "You don't like the ship I take it."

Lance looked at him for a second before snorting. "Hell no, this thing is a walking target. And with how powerful the president of Silph Co is, he was able to get Charles to request I stay on board during their first maiden voyage." The Champion turned to him with an unreadable expression. "It's a waste of time Ash Ketchum, when we could better spend it on our Rocket problem."

 _What?_ How the hell does the champion know who he is? Why does he know who he is? What was going on! "How-"

"I read every report that mentions that organization's activity." Lance interrupted before turning back to the sea of people bellow them, Ash walked over to the railing to stand next to him. "Imagine my surprise when a Metagross hive is discovered at the top levels of Mt. Moon being poached by Rockets and a rookie trainer had to step in to stop them. Luckily Steven was there to lend you a hand with Petrel. I've battled him before, he's a tough one."

Ash didn't know what to say about that only that he felt even dumber for the Mt. Moon incident. If Lance says someone is tough then he wanted no part of them.

"I apologize that you had to face those bastards." Lance said kindly to the younger trainer. "Also that you had to meet Agatha, that old women is about as soft as sand paper." He laughed.

"Don't I know it, that Gengar was mine." Muttered Ash still upset about losing the ghost Pokémon.

"Your team is already pretty impressive, so I wouldn't worry to much about it." Waved off Lance, casually mentioning that he likely knew every move Ash has made since beginning his journey. Ash didn't show that it bothered him, it didn't really not like he did anything noteworthy yet.

Ash gestured to the two dragons lazily flying overhead. "Your team is quite impressive to, but isn't two powerful dragons a little much?"

Lance let out a massive face splitting grin. "You should see the Gyarados and Kingdra underwater. I'd have Emerald out here but he would cause a spectacle that would defeat the purpose."

And why wouldn't a _Shiny_ Dragonite cause a spectacle? A man dropped over four hundred thousand dollars on a shiny Ratacate. Would it cost billions for a shiny dratini? More? It made Ash's head spin.

But since he was right next to Lance the dragon master he thought now would be his best and only shot to have Blast looked at by the man. "I want to introduce you to my buddy Blast."

Lance peered over at Ash curiously when he expanded a Pokéball and tapped the release button. Out popped Blast in all of his fourteen foot glory, head held high and tail lazily swaying back and forth.

"He just evolved a month ago, I've been having him remaster all of his attacks but I'd love for you to take a look at him." Ash said to the Champion who was looking over Blast, everywhere except for his eyes. The Dragon master obviously knew the rule, never gaze into the eyes of an apex predator, no matter how strong or weak.

"He is young but is maturing well. He is strong and very confident in his ability, you've raised him well in that regard. Scales are tough and muscles are strong. I would work on his physical abilities rather than his energy and elemental attacks. His inner power is useful and highly powerful but he'll never evolve if he doesn't become a physical powerhouse to go with his inner energy. A Dragonair right before evolving could approach nearly two feet in circumference and seventeen feet in length. But unlike Dratini who will evolve without training since Dragonair is a sign of adulthood, Dragonite is a completely different story. Dragon's are hard to raise but their power is unrivaled."

Ash and Blast listened to everything Lance said with rapt attention. Both were ignorant of what it took for a Dragon to fully evolve so the words of Lance was the only useful information they have ever gotten. Oak was helpful but he was more of a guiding hand rather than an instructor for Ash and the Pokédex didn't have much information on the Dratini line.

"Gooooon" Blast's deep voice sounded out after hearing what the Champion had to say.

Ash reached over and ran his hands down the blue dragon's scales. "Thanks for the information. All I had to go on was train and train and he'd evolve after a while."

Lance smiled at the rookie. "The Dratini line is the second hardest of all dragon's to raise. Only the Hydreigon line is more difficult and far more dangerous as well. Mine wasn't obedient until Emerald knocked some sense into him."

A lot of information was just revealed to Ash. Lance had a Hydreigon, the most dangerous Pokémon in the world with only Tyranitar coming close. Second and new to him was the difficulty of raising a Dragonair, he didn't think they were that hard to raise. Dragon's in general was hard to raise but Dratini were the easiest going of all of them, his excluded.

"Ever since I made my debut with Emerald people started trying to raise their own Dratini. Only four percent of Dratini ever evolve all the way into Dragonite, don't let their easy going attitude fool you." Lance said seriously.

Ash nodded and recalled Blast into his ball. While he was with Lance he wanted to ask one more question. "I wanted to know one more thing. How did you find a shiny Dratini?" Shiny Pokémon were a one and a million chance, dragons were very rare in general. Mix those two variables together and Ash was sure that Lance made a deal with some sort of deity to get his partner.

Lance pulled out a luxury ball and pressed the release button. Out popped an eight foot tall Dragonite and cornerstone of the Champion's team. Thick large scales covered its entire body all as large as Ash's hands and likely an inch thick. The normal golden scales were a deep emerald green, its stomach was the same tan highly thick leather to allow for perfect mobility. The thick and powerful wings were the same deep emerald on the back with an unusual purple on the front. Thick and large powerful arms swung back and forth as the monster hovered mid-air, both with the strength to likely pick up and throw Snor. Behind the dragon was a tail that waved back and forth hypnotically, the ease in which the massive extremity was manipulated was amazing.

Lance reached out and patted the large beast, "I met Emerald when I was younger about eight or nine, he was a loner on my families mountain. My father was going to sell him to Silph Co but I refused to let him. So Emerald and I became friends and two decades later here we are." The Dragonite let out a deep rumble and slapped Lance heartily on the back.

"That's awesome, you and he are obviously close." Smiled Ash seeing the bond between the two partners.

Lance nodded. "Dragonite and Salamance have this handled my friend." The Champion said before returning his partner to its Pokéball.

"Now I have a question for you Ash Ketchum." Lance said after a second, Ash looked over to the Champion curiously. "When Petrel escaped, what exactly happened?"

Mt. Moon, of course he'd want to know more about that. Ash himself had tried to think of what exactly happened ever since that day. He has an idea but it makes no rational sense. "Well, Steven and a wild Metagross cornered him. He and his followers didn't have a way to escape and I guess he knew that because he screamed out 'We lost get us out of here'. After that all of them…teleported away."

That was what he and Steven agreed must have happened, but Ash had a theory that he was sure would make him sound crazy. Lance saw that Ash was holding back and gestured for him to share.

"This may sound stupid but," Ash looked out at the sea of people all carrying on their day ignorant of what the Champion of their Region and some rookie were discussing. "I think a Pokémon teleported them away. From a different location."

The move Teleport was finicky, only the Abra line had truly mastered it to the point they could use it outside of battle for long distance travel. An Alakazam was capable of instantly traveling between cities without strain. The only thing an Alakazam needed to bring someone along was either physical contact or a clear line of sight and the target be within one meter. It was literally impossible for a Pokémon to teleport something without at least seeing it. As far as Ash knew at least.

Lance took in a deep breath and walked to the edge of the railing to watch the people below. "If what you say is true, and trust me I hope it isn't, then that would mean that the rockets have a Pokémon with legendary power. Or close to it at least. I ask that you keep that sort of information to yourself, I will tell it to those I deem necessary." The authoritative tone that Lance used demanded obedience, it was no wonder that he could command so many dragons when just one was usually too much for a trainer to handle.

Ash nodded quickly. "Of course."

Lance smiled an changed the subject. "So, do you know what the prize is for first place?" A shake of the head from Ash prompted Lance to continue. "Well, at first it was going to be an egg from my families mountain which would have contained either a Dratini or Bagon but I decided against it. Dragon's shouldn't be handed out, they should choose their master." He said seriously.

Ash nodded at that, Blast clearly chose him over Paul. Otherwise he'd never have listened to Ash after receiving him.

"Now the first place prize is an all expenses paid pass to the Safari Zone early. Fuchsia isn't opening it for another ten months so there isn't a price one could pay that could gain entry. I recommended this since the trainer to win would obviously like to choose the Pokémon they catch rather than be handed it. Also lots of money and a Silph care package with a bunch of goodies. Second and third also get the Silph packages and money." Lance said with a grin.

Ash smirked out over the railing. "I definitely do. Though I don't really have any Pokémon in mind I want to catch. Something that catches my eye I guess but my team is looking really good." He finished with a shrug.

Lance nodded, "Well, you better win then. Steven was hyping you up to me when we last spoke. Not many trainers can control a Metang after all. Although there are a few interesting prospects in the tournament so you'll have to give it your best."

"I'm afraid that our time together will have to come to an end. It was nice meeting you Ash Ketchum, good luck in the tournament tomorrow."

Ash watched as the two regional Champion walked away, nodding toward league workers or the occasional Silph employee. More and more people started to board the ship after a deep horn sounded out from the ship.

Ash decided to talk a walk around the ship to get more aquatinted to his temporary home for the next week and a half if the projected time to get to Fuchsia was correct. Restaurants and stores lined the main deck. After every couple stores there would be a walkway that lead to the inner part of the ship.

Deciding to see where it went Ash walked down the next walkway to explore the inner part of the ship. Walking through the sides were lined with windows that allowed him to see into the restaurants on either side.

When Ash crossed to the other side of the walkway he was met with an awe inspiring sight. The entire inner part of the of the ship was hollow. Held in the air by four walkways that extended from the four corners of the mid levels was a battlefield for the tournament. At the top levels far above Ash were four massive jumbo Televisions that they likely measured in feet rather than inches. Every level had a large walkway that completely circled the inner battlefield allowing anyone on any level to be able to walk out to the balcony to see the arena.

From Ash's spot he could see the red paint of a Pokémon Center that he and Lance talked in front of on the outer part of the ship. The center was long enough to have an entrance on both the inner part and the outer part. On the other side of the opening on the opposite side of the ship was another Pokémon Center likely the home of the second Joy he spotted in the center earlier.

He was in room four twenty seven, if it was like a hotel that would mean he was on the fourth level. Looking up he saw all the room levels and decided to look for a way to climb up to the fourth floor.

Ash was about to walk around the walkway when he was bumped into by a girl around his age. She was wearing running pants and a short sleeve shirt that had a Pokéball like design on the front. Her arms were cradling a small Pokémon egg like Pokémon with small stubby arms that waved around happily as it trilled up at its holder.

"Oh I'm sorry Togepi," She apologized to the baby egg Pokémon. She looked up and looked at Ash apologetically. "I'm sorry to you as well, I wasn't looking where I was going."

Ash shook his head, "Don't worry about it, I wasn't paying attention either. Too lost while looking around and trying to find a way to the fourth floor."

The girl brightened up, "I know where the elevators are! Follow me!" She turned on her heel and walked quickly down the alleyway.

Seeing nothing better to do Ash followed the girl. She stopped halfway down the hallway and smiled at him proudly. "Here we go, most of these hallways have an elevator or stairway up."

"Thanks." Ash said as he pressed the up arrow. "My name is Ash by the way."

The girl jolted then rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry! My name is Melanie nice to meet you Ash!" She said happily, the Togepi trilled and got the attention of Melanie. "And this little one is Togepi."

Ash nodded to the little Pokémon who trilled happily at the trainer. "So are you here for the tournament?" Asked Ash.

Melanie shook her head rapidly, "Oh no no! I wish I was skilled enough to beat Surge but no, my dad got me a ticket for the ride so I could watch the tournament."

"Well cool," Shrugged Ash, he did wonder how much it cost for a ticket onto the ship.

Considering there were over twenty restaurants, three rollercoasters, eight swimming pools, and who knows what else. The ticket didn't say exactly what was open or list through everything on the ship but Ash knew it was luxurious with a capitol L.

"But you are right?!" She turned to him excitedly, "You have the traveled look of a trainer and since you asked me that must make you a contestant."

"Good deduction Melanie." Nodded Ash with a smile. "And yeah, I'm here for the tournament."

The elevator dinged and the two doors slid opened. Ash and Melanie walked inside and pressed the button with the number four on it.

After the doors closed Melanie turned back to Ash. "So how many badges do you have?" She asked.

"Three," He answered. "Brock, Misty and Surge. I will say that Surge was by far the toughest." It was true too, Misty was skilled but he never doubted the win no matter how strong her Lapras was. Brock's rookie crushing Onix was impressive but Hydro took it down just like he expected him to. Surge was the first one that he was unsure of the outcome, especially after Raichu took to the field.

"Don't I know it, I battled Surge a few days ago. Only my Graveler stood a chance and that was because of his ground typing. He destroyed my Clefairy pretty quick and my Bagon isn't quite battle ready." She said grumpily.

Ash decided to think about her choice of Pokémon, Graveler was an obvious choice and Clefairy if trained properly were certified dragon killers. Bagon was the only one he wasn't sure about. Bagon didn't really have a move pool that Dratini did and its battling capabilities were limited as well until it was a Salamance.

"How long have you had Bagon?" Asked Ash, they were just as rare as those of the Dratini line but were native to Hoenn. Having one in Kanto was even stranger than his Metang.

She put a finger to her chin in thought. "I think about a month, he was a gift but we're working well together."

Ash nodded, "Well at least it listens to you, some dragons just ignore or attack their trainers. Especially if the trainer didn't battle them to catch them." He said trying to lift her spirits.

Melanie appreciated the sentiment and smiled at Ash, "Thanks, but I know I've got a ways to go. I hope to learn from the tournament, it's the whole reason that I'm here."

"Good," Ash said making her raise her eyebrow. "My mom always said that if one can't fix their own problems then they never really go away." He said getting a nod of understanding out of the girl.

"Dad likes to say a version of that." She said in agreement. The double doors of the elevator opened up on the forth floor and Ash stepped out. "Good luck in the tournament Ash." She said with Togepi trilling in her arms in agreement.

"Thanks Melanie." Ash said as the elevator doors closed.

The fourth floor looked like a typical hotel hallway. Finally a normal part of the ship that didn't look like it belonged in a five star hotel. Walking down the hallway Ash got to room four twenty seven, on the handle was a keypad.

Great, Ash didn't know the code so he was out of luck for getting into his room. Turning around he came face to face with the man in the doorway of the room across from his. He didn't look like a typical trainer, he was in his late thirties and was wearing a button down shirt and light brown pants.

Ash pointed to the door behind him, "You wouldn't happen to know how to find out you passcode?"

The man looked up and raised an eyebrow at Ash, "They didn't tell you? It's your trainer I.D. number." He told Ash before stalking off down the hallway in a hurry.

Ash turned back to his door and tapped in his trainer I.D. and the lock clicked allowing him to open the door.

Walking inside the room Ash took a look around. First thing was that it was much bigger than the Pokémon Center rooms that he was provided when he stayed there. A large bed big enough for four of him was in the center of the room.

A large dresser held up the television and across the bed, on the opposite side of the room was a desk that had a video phone terminal. Ash could see several doors lining the walkway, one was a closet and the other was a full sized bathroom with a tub big enough for Blast to relax in.

If this was the moderate room he'd love to see the very top level. They were probably closer to condos than hotel rooms. And considering that the ship could circumnavigate the globe without making port he was sure that people could and would live on the boat for months at a time if they so wished.

Seeing as how the room was big enough Ash released all of current his Pokémon. Hydro jumped up and ran into the large bathtub and began relaxing in the water. Pidgeotto flapped over to a large metal bird stand that Ash hadn't noticed at first. Blast slithered over to the bed and coiled up, the dragon would have went to sleep if it wasn't for a certain dark type nudging the larger dragon with her paw.

The two Pokémon got into an argument that Ash was about to break up when they stopped growling at each other. Umbreon yipped to the dragon and hopped over to the other side of the bed and nestled into the pillows. Blast somehow had a look of exasperation on his face but then laid back down.

Pikachu was running around the room excitedly, he would jump on the bed and tap the noses of both Blast and Umbreon getting a snort from the dragon and a hiss from the dark type. Charmeleon was making sure that his bright flame covered tail wasn't touching anything flammable as he explored the room.

Ash smiled at his team and sat down at the desk. While he had time he was going to look into the fighting type Pokémon that were common around Kanto. His first choice was a Heracross but they were hard to track down and much harder to pin down since they hide well in trees and could fly. A fighting and bug type would give him excellent additional coverage for his team and they were known for their brawling capabilities.

But the two most common ones were Machop and Mankey and if Ash were honest he would rather explore other regions for fighting types, a Lucario would be nice for sure. But since he didn't have time to fly over to another region he'd have to settle for what he was close to.

Mankey and then Primeape were excellent fighters and could hold themselves with even top tier fighting types if trained properly. But Ash was instead going to look out for a Machop, they were easier to catch since they were naturally curious Pokémon and loved to challenge others to test their strength. They were common in most parts of Kanto which meant that he was going to be able to find one relatively ease.

Looking back over six out of eight of his Pokémon while they relaxed in his room he thought about who and what else he wanted to add. He had no ground, grass, poison, rock, fairy, bug or fighting and while his team could learn moves to cover such weaknesses he did need to add one or two more Pokémon if he wanted a chance to make it to the top levels of the Pokémon League. His team needed experience fighting against all types or they would only be good at fighting what he had. And as much as he hated to think it, maybe he needed to look into another ice type if Snorunt wasn't interested in battling.

The tournament first place prize was a free ticket into the Safari Zone, a good place to find some new team members. But that was first place and he was sure that he wasn't going to be the front runner for the tournament. The requirements for the tournament were to beat Lt. Surge and anyone could do that if they put in enough focus.

That would mean that all the contestants would be a wide spread of weak to really strong. Someone could have beaten surge at the sixth or seventh level or at a first badge level. Ash barely won at three so he wasn't sure where he stood, he'd have to scout out the competition tomorrow.

Gary and Paul were the only ones he knew about. And if he thought about it he was sure both were at his level or even higher. Paul likely held a grudge for beating him and taking his brother's gift from him and Gary is an Oak, greatness flowed through his veins.

Standing from his desk he jumped onto his bed with a sigh. He got a glare from Blast who was disturbed by his jumping onto the bed but Ash just smiled at the dragon who turned away and put his head back down. Umbreon climbed out of her pillow mountain and snuggled up to his side.

Ash drifted off to sleep with thoughts of the tournament tomorrow.

* * *

Thousands of passengers lined the walkways surrounding the arena on all levels from the level he was on and all the way to the top. Along with the spectators on the walkways were the many that were in the stands near the arena.

Ash was standing next to the other contestants as they waited for the tournament to begin.

"Welcome all to the first ever S.S. Anne Pokémon Tournament!" Cheers roared out from everyone in attendance.

The announcer waited a second for the cheers to die down before continuing. "We have a bunch of promising trainers! All eyes to the large televisions toward the top and we can see the first two trainers!"

Everyone looked up to see two squares with every trainers face flashing in a randomizer. After a while it stopped and Ash rolled his eyes. Of course he would be up first.

"And there we have it. Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town against Mia of Hau'oli City! A local boy versus a resident of our southern neighbor Alola!" Cheers picked up as both Ash and Mia walked out onto the suspended arena from one of the four walkways.

Once they stepped into the trainer squares a Mr Mime and Alakazam erected a powerful barrier that was nearly invisible. If one were to look closely they could see shimmer of energy but otherwise it allowed for full visibility of the battle.

A Pokémon League official ref turned to looked at both trainers. "This will be two on two, no switching, a Pokémon battles until it is deemed unable to battle or the trainer deems they are unable to battle further. Mia as the red trainer you will release your Pokémon first."

Both Ash and Mia nodded and the girl took out a Pokéball then tossed it toward the battlefield. Out popped a large ivory fox, it held its head in a dignified manor as it eyed Ash disdainfully as if it found him to be an unworthy opponent. Nine large puffy tails swished behind the ivory fox as a frost was blown out of its mouth with every breath.

Ash had heard that some Pokémon in the Alola region were mutated by the peculiar climate and environment. Ash didn't know exactly how a vulpix was born with an ice typing or any of the other strange mutations, now wasn't the time to be pondering it either.

He knew it was an Ice type, so he'd go with fire.

Ash threw out Charmeleon's Pokéball and the red pseudo dragon snorted out a wisp of red flame from his snout. The two Pokémon stared one another down trying to get a read on the other and ascertain any potential weak points.

"We have a cool Alolan Ninetails versus a red hot Charmeleon!" Applause and anticipation spread across the audience.

The ref looked between the two trainers. "Begin!" He shouted before he was teleported next to the Alakazam on the sidelines so to be far enough to be safe and close enough to intervene if necessary.

"Good luck Ketchum!" Mia called kindly.

Ash tipped his hat at the girl, "Yeah and you to!" He yelled out to her hoping that she could hear him over all the noise.

"Flamethrower wide."

Charmeleon had been mastering the move flamethrower over the course of the past month. His inner flame had grown not only large but far hotter and denser, so now he was able to manipulate them far easier allowing for variation in his attacks.

Instead of the compact tight stream of red hot flames that a typical flamethrower was, this one was a wide wall that covered the distance slower than normal but was nearly impossible to avoid. Only a move like dig or fly could out maneuver the wide spread flamethrower and Ash knew that an ice type like Ninetails didn't and likely couldn't learn either of those.

As the smoldering wall of flame approached Ninetails, the ivory fox sucked in a breath and blew out a pale mist that covered its side of the field with extremely cold wind.

The moment that the fire met the Frost Breath steam exploded out removing all sense of visibility of the two Pokémon. Ash tried to look for the perpetually flaming tail of Charmeleon but was unsuccessful. All he could do was hope that Charmeleon stuck to what he and Blast hammered into him in all their training sessions.

A primal roar was heard from inside of the steam. A small red dot was visible from inside the steam for an instant before an omnidirectional wave of flame exploded out. Ash saw a white blur speed into the air to avoid the flames.

With the widespread wave of flames spreading out the steam was blown away with it. The barrier was the only thing that stopped Ash from becoming his namesake.

In the center surrounded by a blackened battleground in his immediate area. Ninetails was looking at two of her tails that were heavily burned before giving Charmeleon the coldest glare Ash had ever seen. The native Alolan Pokémon pointed all nine tails in front of it and the water molecules began to freeze into razor sharp shards of ice.

"Multi Ember."

Charmeleon's tail brightened and his jaw was filled with fire. Dozens of Ice shards tore through the air that were met with ping pong ball sized fire balls that met the frozen barrage mid field.

Charmeleon roared and stopped the ember attack then released a tight stream of flames directly at the Ninetails.

The ivory fox met the attack with a rainbow colored beam of energy. The Aurora Beam and Flamethrower met and unlike when ember met ice it wasn't two evenly matched attacks canceling the other out.

The tight stream of flame tore through the ice attack with ease and slammed into the Alolan fox. Charmeleon's tail flame doubled in intensity as the pseudo dragon's instincts kicked in and the stream of flame brightened into an intense white.

Ash even from behind the psychic barrier tried to cover his face from the intense flames.

Ninetails could only howl out as its entire body took on a white glow. The flames that nearly overtook its body was starting to be pushed back by the strange white energy.

"Cut the attack then get in close with Dragon Claw."

Charmeleon spat out the rest of his stored flames and dashed forward. Blue energy spread across his arms all the way to his claws that extended out until they were six inches in length.

Ninetails body was covered in the white glistening energy. Its nine tails all pointed forward and the energy gathered into a swirling ball of the white power. Ninetails howled again and the ball of energy shot forward with surprising speed.

Charmeleon slashed the ball with the draconic enhanced claws but the white energy was completely unaffected by the claw attack and slammed into Charmeleon's hard chest. The explosion sent Charmeleon flying back but thanks to his tail he was able to keep his balance and stay on his feet.

Ash instantly knew what the attack was after that display. There was only one thing that was completely unaffected by the incredibly powerful dragon energy. Ninetails was an ice and fairy type it would seem. The ultimate dragon killer, it has their two biggest weaknesses wrapped up in one Pokémon.

Good thing he didn't start out with Blast.

"Only fire attacks!"

Charmeleon snarled a tongue of red hot flames out of his mouth. A powerful white hot flamethrower tore through the space between Charmeleon and Ninetails. An Ice beam was Ninetails response but the attack- natural or not, was unable to overpower the white hot flamethrower.

This time there was no howl or explosion. Ninetails was completely overcome by the intense fire and knocked unconscious. Ash called out to Charmeleon to end the attack and the red pseudo dragon listened instantly.

The ref raised an arm on Ash's side of the field. "Ninetails is unable to battle, Charmeleon is the winner. Mia, please send out your last Pokémon."

Mia grimaced as she recalled her Ninetails. She narrowed her eyes at Ash and Charmeleon then tossed out her next Pokémon. A blue and white egg shaped Pokémon with large rabbit shaped ears that flopped around with every movement. A thin black zig zagged shaped tail connected the main body to a heavy blue ball tip.

An Azumarill bounced in place as it gazed across at Charmeleon.

Ash knew exactly what type of Pokémon this was - a water and fairy type. He was sensing a pattern of Mia's team. Unfortunately, with the rules of the tournament Ash was unable to recall Charmeleon unless he wanted to take his buddy out of the fight completely.

Ash turned to the ref. "Charmeleon was hit by that attack earlier, I'm taking him out of the fight."

The ref saw through Ash's comment but raised the flag and pointed toward Mia, "Charmeleon has been removed from the battle. Azumarill and Mia are the winners! Ash, please send out your last Pokémon."

Ash recalled Charmeleon and ran his fingers over the rest of his Pokéballs. Picking the one that hasn't had much battle time in the recent weeks- Pidgeotto.

The hush that fell over crowd the moment his golden bird took to the sky was deafening. Ash smirked up at Pidgeotto when she swooped down closer to Azumarill and let out a screech at her opponent.

The ref signaled for the restart of the battle.

Pidgeotto flapped her powerful wings and exploded into the air in a blur of motion. Since Ash caught her he has been training her in speed, maneuvering, and evasion. Pidgeotto's speed was enough that it had both Azumarill and Mia trying to keep up with her as she swooped and rolled in the air.

"Gust then steel wing!"

Azumarill charged up a gurgling blue energy in its mouth that it then spat out in the air toward the golden bird. A widespread wave of bubbles shot toward Pidgeotto with surprising speed.

As the bubbles approached Pidgeotto flapped her wings rapidly. After the second flap a breeze started to pick up and after the fifth a powerful gale wind blew into the bubbles. The blue bubbles exploded on contact with the blunt force of the powerful winds.

With the mist from the collision spreading across the air Pidgeotto charged up her wings with the silver metallic energy to power up Steel Wing.

A golden blur raced toward Azumarill who looked up alarmed at the high speed flying type. The water Pokémon was unable to answer any of its trainers calls for retaliation in time and was nailed in the chest by two powerful steel enhanced wings.

The Azumarill bounced back onto its blue bubble on the tip of the tail. The water type in an impressive show of acrobatics backflipped and landed back on its feet.

"Finish this with Brave Bird."

Ash knew that Pidgeotto could manage one Brave Bird without much trouble but he would need to make sure that it hit.

Azumarill charged up a white energy ball that exploded into a jagged beam that sped toward Pidgeotto. Since the first day that Ash had caught Pidgeotto, he trained her in evasion and tight airborne maneuvering. Ash smirked at the long hours of training paying off brilliantly as she effortlessly avoided all of the ice beams.

After the ninth attack the rapid firing of ice beams toward Pidgeotto were starting to slow down. It would take an ice type to be able to fire the powerful ice type attacks rapid fire without heavy strain.

Pidgeotto's body started to give off a golden glow, her feathers all lit up with powerful flying type energy. The already golden bird took on a bright glow that gave her the appearance of a shooting star.

Azumarill yelled out in fright and launched a compact bubble beam at the rapidly approaching Pidgeotto. The bubbles were bulldozed through by Pidgeotto without even the hint of slowing down or stopping.

After ripping through all the bubbles Pidgeotto tightened her wind span and crashed right into Azumarill. The move Brave Bird, at its core was a very powerful tackle attack. The move enhanced speed and power to a very high level and saturated the body with incredible flying type energy. With all that speed and power flowing into Pidgeotto she smashed into the water type with a loud thunderous crack sounding out. The blue water and fairy type was taken off of its feet and sent soaring back until it crashed into the psychic barrier unconscious.

Brave bird, at this point was a one hit kill for opponents around Pidgeotto's level. Good thing too, Ash could see her right wing twitching slightly. He'll take her to one of the centers to get fixed up in case she needed to battle again.

"That looks like that's all she wrote for Azumarill!" The announcer shouted into the mic getting applause from the crowd. "Ash ketchup and his golden Pidgeotto move on to the next round!"

Pidgeotto screeched loudly as she circled above Ash. The rookie from Pallet walked over to Mia and extended a hand to her.

"That was a good battle." Ash said while he shook Mia's hand with a smile. "So you use fairy types right?"

The Alolan trainer brightened up considerably. "Yes! I want to be one of the Elite Four as a Fairy Master!"

A very difficult dream to achieve, but he intended to take down the titan known as Lance for his spot as Champion so who was he to judge someone on difficult dreams. With that in mind he gave her a smile.

"I wish you luck." Nodded Ash before walking off, he pointed a Pokéball up at Pidgeotto and recalled her.

Ash ignored the announcer call for everyone to look up at the massive televisions for the next two contestants. He walked down one of the nearby hallways and tapped the button for the elevator to ride up to the main level.

The Pokémon Center had more people than he thought it would. People were relaxing in the lounge with food as they watched the broadcast of the tournament happening five hundred yards away.

The nurse Joy gave him a pleasant smile, "Congratulations on your win Mr Ketchum."

Ash smiled back at the nurse. "Thank you, I need to have my Pokémon looked at real quick." Ash handed her two Pokéballs.

Ash went over to lounge to watch the tournament while he waited.

* * *

The first rounds were interesting, Gary had tore through his opponent with a Nidoking and Arcanine. Where Gary managed to get evolutionary stones for either Pokémon was anyones guess.

Stones were expensive and rare, most of the time you needed to be on a waiting list for weeks to get the chance at buying one. Maybe the Oak last name greased the wheels to allow him to get some quick, who knows. Gary hadn't told him anything and neither did the Professor so he wasn't worried about it.

Paul used his Magmar to take out both Pokémon without much trouble. The lava Pokémon was powerful enough to burn away even a Poliwhirl. Ash would need Hydro to take that beast down.

Another stand out was the guy that helped him out with his door code. His name was Jason and he was on his third year as a trainer despite being much older than Ash. He was from Kanto but had some powerful foreign Pokémon namely his Bisharp, a steel and dark type that was very agile.

Ash walked out onto the field after his name was called. His opponent took the field across from him with calm steps, his posture spoke of confidence and his gaze that was focused on him showed that he wasn't going to underestimate him.

"Ash Ketchum, released your first Pokémon." The ref told him.

Ash unfortunately didn't get a chance to watch his opponents battle in the first round so he went with a solid choice.

Hydro landed on the field with a flash of the red energy of his Pokéball. A second later his opponent tossed out his first Pokémon.

A large and healthy looking Tangela giggled as it landed on the field. The constant wiggling of its countless vines moving around its body showed that it had full control over every one of them.

Hydro would be at a disadvantage against its grass typing but Ice beam would be the equalizer.

The ref swung both of his flags down to signal the start of the match. Tangela's vines install whipped out and shot toward Hydro.

"Rapid Spin, reposition Piercing Pulse."

The half dozen approaching vines all went wide then converged on Hydro's location leaving little room to maneuver away from the entangling vines. Hydro retracted all of his limbs and head inside of his shell.

Hydro angled his shell on the hard surface of the battle field and rapid spun. The cartwheel movement was the only way that Ash could work out to allow Hydro to move about the battlefield quickly so that when he was a Blastoise he could still move if necessary. Drawback was that he could only move in a straight line.

After Hydro repositioned away from the incoming vines all his limbs shot back out of his shell and he landed on his feet. Blue energy gurgled in his mouth, a much tighter than usual Water Pulse shot forward toward the grass type.

By tightening the spread and increasing the pressure of the water Hydro was able to blast the concentrated beam of water with enough for to pierce stone. Grass may be resistant to water attacks but pain was pain.

The Tangela coiled several vines together and created a shield of vines that took the attack. The high density water cut through some of the vines but was stopped but the absorbing nature of the rubbery appendages.

"Ice Beam." Ordered Ash hoping that the super effective energy would do some real damage. Hydro charged the white energy and fired the freezing beam toward the grass type.

The small legs of a Tangela weren't built for running so instead it shot out several vines and pulled itself away from the incoming attack. Hydro was undeterred from the miss and fired once again.

Tangela glowed with power and stabbed a vine into the ground. Cracks raced out from the point of impact. Several large rocks floated into the air and one took the Ice Beam attack with only minor damage.

The floating jagged boulders all shot toward Hydro with surprising speed. Thinking quickly Hydro retracted all his limbs and spun as fast as he could. The large rocks smashed into Hydro's hard shell creating a large dust explosion that obscured Ash's sight from the field.

"Spin faster!" Ash was sure that his order was heard but he couldn't tell if Hydro acted on them. After a second the dust started to slowly spin along with Hydro. The dust tornado blew away all loose debris on the field and Ash could see his partner spinning with all his might at the center.

"Fire water while you spin!" The large tornado of dust filled with thick mist that spread thick mud from the tornado covering every part of the field. Tangela started having trouble moving about in the thick mud that was covering the arena so it was forced to stay in one place.

"Ice Beam!" Hydro stopped instantly and had no trouble stabilizing himself on the slippery surface. White frost formed around Hydro's mouth and a pale beam of energy shot toward Tangela.

Unable to move Tangela went for broke and spread green churning energy into its thickest vine. The Power Whip pulled back then slammed into the pale beam of energy, the collision caused a small frosty explosion that caused a ripple in the mud beneath them.

When the cold frost cleared the Power Whip enhanced vine was frozen solid. Tangela didn't mind the frozen extremity and slammed the vine down hard onto the arena floor shattering it into tiny shards. Tangela's ability activated and the destroyed vine began to regenerate and regrow at a rapid pace.

Ash ticked lightly at the sight. While Tangela was mostly immobile and unable to ingrain into the terrain thanks to the thick muddy surface it still had a multitude of wiggling vines that could take hits to protect its body.

Narrowing his eyes in thought, "Scald then get in close for Brick Break!"

Thanks to the thick muddy surface of the battlefield Hydro was able to slide toward Tangela with impressive speeds. Tangela released a orange spore as Hydro began to close distance.

Hydro built up his natural aquatic energy and heated it until it was steaming. A tight compact stream of boiling water speared into the orange cloud of paralysis inducing spores. Tangela didn't see any threat from the incoming water attack and took the hit.

Unfortunately for the vine covered grass type the damage wasn't the purpose of the attack. The side effect of Scald was that it could cause a burning effect. During the training to increase Hydro's power during the month leading up to Surge Ash didn't just have him increase the power of his attacks but also their intensity. For scald, Ash had Hydro work on increasing the temperature of the attack until the effect rose from one forth of the time to over half of the time.

Tangela gurgled painfully after the boiling water impacted its vines. The center point was glowing an angry red and most of its body was giving off a thick steam.

In the pain of the burning effect Hydro continued to cross the distance with his right claw raised high. Tangela could only groan as it watched as a powerful chop descended upon it. Hydro slammed his right arm downward slamming the grass type onto the muddy surface of the arena with a huge splash.

Without order from Ash, Hydro charged up another Ice Beam and made sure that Tangela wasn't going to get up.

When the grass type stopped twitching the ref raised the red flag while signaling to Ash. "Tangela is unable to battle, Ash and Wartortle are the winners. Mark please send out your last Pokémon!"

Ash looked across at his opponent who he now knew was named Mark. The trainer was about his age but on the shorter side. He was looking down in thought as his right hand was thumbing around in his pocket.

Mark decided on his Next Pokémon and tossed it out toward the field. Materializing from within the Pokéball was a strong looking Nidoqueen that stomped angrily shaking the field and blowing away a substantial amount of mud away from Mark's side of the field.

The ref signaled for the start of the battle.

"Scald then Water Pulse!" Hydro worked on charging up his inner water type energy. Across the field Nidoqueen roared and smashed her right fist onto the ground creating a powerful Earthquake that not only damaged Hydro but completely cleared the field of mud.

Nidoqueen followed up with a cracking yellow bolt of lightning that exploded off of her horn toward Hydro. The water type instinctively withdrew into his shell to absorb the damage.

The electric type attack shot right at Hydro and hit him on the chest of his shell. The thick protective armor that the Squirtle line was born with absorbed the piercing aspect of the electric attack but the shock was spread evenly into Hydro's body.

Hydro screamed out in pain as thousands of volts of electricity assaulted every nerve in the water type's body simultaneously. The water type was twitching madly as he tried to retaliate for the continuos volts of electricity.

Ash watched worriedly as tons of nerve damage was no doubt happening to his starter. Giving in Ash turned to the ref and shook his head.

The ref raised his blue flag toward Mark, "Wartortle is unable to battle. Mark and Nidoqueen are the winners! Ketchum please send out your last Pokémon!"

Nidoqueen was a powerhouse, that was without a doubt. Being able to produce a thunderbolt that strong and that continuously wasn't common in non electric types. His team right now had a few powerhouses but he wasn't sure who he wanted out there. He didn't have Snor at the moment nor did he have Pidgeotto, after her battle he wanted give her the rest of the tournament off since her wing was going to be too sore for the rest of the day for any real battling.

Well he may have wanted to keep it as an ace in the hole but Metang was immune to poison and levitated so that was to two in one.

A large blue steel and psychic Pokémon materialized from his Pokéball with a metallic roar. Nidoqueen glared across the field at the blue Hoenn Pokémon hatefully as it recognized it as a threat.

The ref slashed his two flags downward to signal the start of the next battle.

"Psyshock!"

Metang's arms glowed with bright pink psychic energy as it charged up its attack. Nidoqueen wasn't idle as her mouth built up a fiery Flamethrower. The two attacks met each other mid field causing an explosion of heat and smoke.

From the smoke a thick and intense wave of flame burst through flying dangerously fast. Metang hummed deeply while extending its psychic energy outward. The move psychic granted the user temporarily telekinesis, for a psychic that already had such power they would have their natural abilities increased two fold.

The incoming flame was stopped by a wide psychic barrier that glowed with a pearl energy. Instead of stopping the fire completely Metang brushed it away from itself to avoid the super effective attack. Stopping fire head on was still beyond Metang and likely would for a while, it wouldn't happen until it evolved if Ash guessed right and even then would take an exponential amount of training to achieve.

Ash instinctively raised his arm from the incoming fire that was stopped by the psychic barrier put in place by the Alakazam and Mr Mime.

Metang blitzed forward with two glowing arms alit by steel power for Metal Claw. Nidoqueen swung her massive tail around meeting the metal claw head on. The thick and muscle filled tail met the two gleaming claws and held strong for a moment but the large blue Nidoqueen was eventually knocked back.

"Confusion. Launch her into the air with Psychic then finish with Meteor Mash!"

Nidoqueen slammed her right foot onto the ground with enough force that the immediate area shattered beneath her. Using the force she jumped into the air to attack Metang with a devastating double stomp. However as she was mid air her brain was assaulted by Metang's psychic energy making her collapse onto the ground in pain.

Metang hummed with more psychic energy and roared out in effort. Nidoqueen was picked up into the air slowly for a brief moment before Metang got a firm grip onto the poison and ground type. After acclimating itself to the massive weight of Nidoqueen Metang thew the female Pokémon high into the air.

Ash clenched his fist, this was it. Meteor Mash work perfectly for Metang about three fourths of the time in training. Now it was time to see if Metang could do it in the heat of battle and hit a falling Nidoqueen.

Metang's claws extended forward and locked together with a powerful magnetic force that would keep the claws perfectly still even under the most powerful force. Both claws started to vibrate and glow a deep sapphire blue. From the tips of Metang's arms the blue energy spread down its arms until Metang's body was completely covered.

After the energy spread completely over Metang's body the steel type exploded forward toward the descending Nidoqueen. The large poison and ground type was trying to turn mid air to counter attack but was unable to respond in time to stop the incoming Metang.

The impact of meteor mash was followed by a loud boom that echoed out onto the battle field. Nidoqueen roared out in pain as she landed unceremoniously onto the hard ground unconscious.

Metang floated back over to Ash and roared out in triumph. Ash smiled when he felt a wave of happiness and success wash over him thanks to Metang's emotional telepathy.

"That was awesome I knew you could do it." Ash told Metang happily before he recalled it.

"And there we have it!" Roared the Announcer while the thousands of spectators were cheering their approval of the battle they just witnessed. "Ketchum smashed his way to the quarter finals with his impressive Metang! How far will this rookie go?!"

Ash smirked to himself as he walked off the field, ' _To the end._ '

* * *

Ash leaned over the railing while he watched the rest of the quarter finals, his opponent was a joke. He didn't really even need to order Pikachu or Charmeleon during the battle only really needing to tell Charmeleon to stop playing with his food and finish the poor Raticate off.

Seeing as how he was in the semi finals he wanted to see every competitor battle. So far Gary had beat his opponent definitively. His grass type starter was a beast no doubt about it, Ash had never seen a grass type use so many attacks at once. The descendant of Samuel Oak certainly inherited his grandfathers battle strategies.

Right at the moment Paul was battling some girl from Saffron. She was a fighting type enthusiast apparently seeing as how she used a Hitmonlee first and was now using Hitmonchan. The kicking fiend really laid into Paul's Electabuzz beating it in roughly one minute. Right at the moment Paul was using a Fearow to stay away from the punching fiends Sky Uppercuts and Thunder Punches.

"He has trained his bird well." A man to Ash's left said.

Ash looked at the man with a raised eyebrow before turning back to the battle, he couldn't see what the guy looked like so he just turned back to the battle.

"I guess, his other Pokémon are stronger from what I saw. I think the bird is a place holder." Suspected Ash, the Fearow was strong but most of them were even in the wild. This one didn't have much battle experience based on the arial movements. Pidgeotto would spank the large bird out of the sky without trouble.

"Oh of that I'm sure. I can tell he wants to keep his team a secret until he absolutely needs to reveal them." The man said before turning to Ash. "That Metang of yours is pretty good, the Meteor Mash was a little wanky but otherwise nice. Also your Pikachu is certainly a speed demon."

Ash tipped his hat at the man. "Thanks they all train very hard."

Both were pulled from their conversation when Paul's Fearow Drill Pecked Hitmonchan's chest hard enough for it to fly back and impact the barriers. The crowed applauded when it was ruled that Hitmonchan's was unable to battle.

"I wish you luck Mr Ketchum." The man said before walking off. Ash shrugged at the random man's company before making his way back to the arena in case his match was next.

Ash stood shoulder to shoulder with three others. Paul and Gary were there along side the older man Jason, who hadn't lost a Pokémon yet.

"Alright everyone! Here we have the top four! First up is going to be Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town versus Gary Oak who, is also from Pallet Town! How about that everyone! It seems we have a Pallet Town Showdown!"

Ash smiled to himself. A battle with Gary would be awesome, Gary blew through all of his opponent as simply as he did so he was hoping that he would meet his match.

Both Ash and Gary walked out onto their trainer squares. Ash walked across to the red square while Gary stood on the blue side tapping his foot impatiently.

The ref walked forward, "This is the first semi final battle, this along with the finals will be three on three. Switching is allowed for this match and there is no time limit. The red trainer will release his Pokémon first."

Ash took a breath, he knew Gary had a Nidoking, Kadabra, Arcanine, and Ivysaur. So he was safe to start with Umbreon she was sturdy and fast.

His dark type took to the field after a flash of the red energy of her Pokéball. Umbreon looked around before she lowered her head to ready herself for combat.

Gary narrowed his eyes at the dark type making Ash smirk. Of his entire team Umbreon was the most off putting for trainers to battle. As a pure dark type she and her kind were avoided like the plague for their malicious natures and quick tempers.

Anyone could fight a Pokémon like Dratini as they were so often used now a days because of Lance that unless they were really well trained they lost most of their intimidation factor. Same could be said about all of Ash's team, save for Umbreon which made her such a good Pokémon for opening a battle with an unknown opponent.

Gary tossed out his first choice and a large Pidgeotto took to the field with a loud screech. Gary's Pidgeotto was larger than average and its plume was bright and was longer than average to show that it was close to evolving into a large and powerful Pidgeot.

The ref signaled for the start of the match and Gary wasted no time in ordering Pidgeotto in the sky.

"Wait to counter with Confusion when it gets close Thunder Fang."

It was a general set of orders that would rely on Umbreon's battle experience. Gary would have to set the pace for the battle since Pidgeotto could easily stay out of range or easily dodge attacks.

Pidgeotto picked up speed and dove toward Umbreon. The large bird got within ten meters before it flapped its powerful wings twice creating a sharp blade of wind that flew at Umbreon with impressive speed.

The dark type jumped to the side to avoid the incoming attack at the last moment. The ground of the arena split from the air blade causing dust to rise from the impact.

Gary yelled out more orders that Ash couldn't hear, Pidgeotto increased its speed with some technique and started to blur around the air.

Umbreon fired a few Dark Pulses into the air to test Pidgeotto's maneuverability but all were dodged easily. Ash sighed tiredly, he wasn't going to switch Umbreon out until he had a better idea of what Gary's plan was so this was going to be a waiting game for the first one to lose their patience. He and Umbreon could do this all day, the Oak from what he had seen didn't have the most patience.

Pidgeotto got lower and began rapidly flapping its wings causing a fierce wind that picked up all the ruble and debris from the earlier battles. Umbreon moved around the wind storm at the center of the field and waited to see what the bird was planning.

Ash narrowed his eyes, "Umbreon, when it stops moving use Confusion."

Pidgeotto's powerful and continuous Gust attack assaulted the battle field, slowly increasing the scale of the attack so that it would encompass the entire battlefield. Pidgeotto stopped the attack on Gary's order and the winds quickly died out without a constant source of fuel.

Umbreon seized the opportunity and fired a Dark Pulse straight at Pidgeotto, the bird noticed the attack flying towards it and easily flew to the side and completely avoided the attack. This cycle continued as Pidgeotto was far enough and fast enough to avoid incoming attacks and Umbreon was having fun firing her attacks at a living target. After the seventh beam of pitch black energy was evaded Pidgeotto was slowed enough that the eight managed to land on the large bird's wing doing enough damage for a cry of pain.

Ash analyzed the Pidgeotto's form. It was large and could likely deal out incredible physical strikes considering his was slightly smaller and could nock an Onix off its rocker with a single steel wing. But Gary's didn't seem the type to evade and outmaneuver its opponents, evidence in the fact that it couldn't dodge the Dark Pulse attack that was quick at best.

Right now its left wing was injured and its speed was already much slower than before. But it was still too quick for Umbreon's limited psychic abilities to affect its brain. Ash made a note to start having Metang teach her Psychic which would increase her control over the mental arts.

Pidgeotto pulled both of its wings in and suddenly fell from the sky to avoid a dark beam then shot both wings out and picked its speed back up. The bird's feathers glowed for a moment as it fed flying type energy into its body.

Ash smirked, "Its going to use roost, use confusion when the move is about to start." He and his Pokémon have seen his Pidgeotto use her healing move many times so they knew exactly when she was vulnerable.

Umbreon did exactly as she was told and waited for her opportunity as she charged psychic energy making her ruby colored eyes glow ominously.

Pidgeotto's entire body started to glow and right as the energy was about to heal its body it was assaulted by psychic energy. The large bird screeched in pain as it fell to the ground unable to use its necessary motor functions to flap its wings to stay in the air.

"Thunder Fang." Ordered Ash with a monster grin on his face now that he saw an end to the battle. Although it was unnecessary because Pidgeotto was likely going to be out from the impact alone but Ash wanted to be sure.

Umbreon hackled evilly that was further enhanced by her malicious grin. Sharp fangs were out for the world to see that were dripping with purple liquid as Umbreon's natural poison glands activated in the thrill of the battle. After a moment the sharp poison fangs crackled with yellow lightning as Thunder fang activated. With her attack prepared Umbreon rushed forward towards the fallen Pidgeotto.

Ash ignored the whispers aimed at Umbreon and watched the rest of the battle stoically. He didn't like that people were going to think that she was dangerous but there wasn't anything he could do. Unfortunately he wasn't going to be able to stop the match since Pidgeotto was still conscious and starting to move around. It was up to Gary and the ref to stop the match before Umbreon got to the bird.

Pidgeotto had righted itself before hitting the ground to lower the damage it would take from the impact. The bird looked up just in time to see Umbreon right in front of it with its jaws spread wide crackling with yellow lightning. Pidgeotto was unable to do anything as Umbreon's fangs clasped around its neck biting down hard enough that a steady stream of blood was flowing from the wound.

"Enough!" Ordered Ash, he'd seen the Pidgeotto fall unconscious and Umbreon hadn't let go showing that he instincts had taken over during the battle. If he hadn't stopped her she would have likely killed Pidgeotto.

Ash ignored the loud whispers of fright directed at Umbreon, she was a pure Dark type so she was naturally looked at with caution. Seeing her act so aggressively didn't help her image nor did it reflect on him well since he was using her in a battle.

The ref called out for Gary's next Pokémon and Ash watched as Umbreon stalked back over to him. "Great work girl, want to keep going?" He asked.

Umbreon looked back with a bland stare, "Bre." she snorted before looking back at her opponent.

That made Ash snort in amusement, he shouldn't have ask considering she didn't even get hit in the last battle. She wasn't going to stop unless she was beaten or was drastically out matched and even then Ash would have to force her.

Gary seemed to come to a decision as he tossed out a Pokéball. From the capture device emerged his Ivysaur, the grass starter stomped its foot and growled across the field at Umbreon showing that it was unintimidated.

"Swift then bite." Ordered Ash. Umbreon's rings glowed as the normal type energy gathered around her, several golden stars formed glittering with the unique energy of Swift.

As the six glittering stars crossed the distance toward Ivysaur the grass and poison type quickly slapped the stars with several vines all extending from its large flower on it back.

Ivysaur's bulb glowed in the direct sunlight as it prepared a multitude of possible attacks. The top opened and out popped several different colored clouds of various poisons. Umbreon moved back as fast as she could but was quickly over taken by the widespread cloud of toxins.

"Confusion with all you got!" It was a last ditch effort to do some damage before the spores took effect.

Umbreon realized this as her eyes glowed and she howled in effort. The Ivysaur lowered its head in pain but looked far more composed than it should be in Ash's opinion. It showed the large amounts of training Gary must have put it under if it was able to resist a super effective Confusion with only a grunt of effort.

The cloud of toxins took their effect causing Umbreon to fall over unconscious. The combination of sleep, poison and paralysis was enough to likely take out most of his team if he allowed them to get hit by it. He would need someone that could blow away incoming attacks rather than just dodge them.

Ash pointed Umbreon's ball towards her and recalled her. "That was great, you were great." He whispered into the ball knowing that she could hear him.

Ash thought that he waited long enough in the tournament and decided to toss out his next Pokémon who was likely bored from staying in his ball all day.

Whatever the crowd was expecting to emerge from the Pokéball they didn't get it. Metang had likely become a crowed favorite and they wanted the powerful steel and psychic type back on the field. But Ash had another Pokémon who had been patiently waiting for his chance to battle.

Blast materialized and slammed his powerful tail onto the ground cracking the floor with his impressive strength. A loud roar declared his entrance to the field getting a stunned silence from most of the crowd as they took in the majestic dragon type Pokémon.

From what Ash knew, Blast was the first dragon type to make an appearance in the tournament. He was an impressive sight to be sure especially for those who have never seen a dragon type in person. Blast's regal poise allowed him to stare down at Ivysaur disdainfully believing such an opponent beneath him. A common occurrence ever since he evolved a month ago, it was good that he listened to Ash before the evolution or he was sure that he would have never listened to him after.

Gary clenched his fist angrily, "So you brought out the dragon, alright then." Gary extended his starters ball and recalled Ivysaur.

His next Pokémon that took the field was a strange sight for Ash. It was green and looked more like a bug than anything else. It floated mid air with its rapidly flapping wings allowing it to appear as if it was completely still.

Gary smirked at the lack of recognition and called out his first orders. "Vibrava! Dragon Breath!"

So that's what it was! Ash narrowed his eyes and called out to Blast, "It's a ground and dragon type Blast meet that with attack with Dragon Rage then get close for Aqua Tail."

Blast snorted at the Pokémon believing it to still nothing more than an unworthy bug. The dragon breath and dragon rage attack met mid field and the resulting explosion sent a shockwave out the blew Ash's hat off of his head. He quickly reached up and caught it, he couldn't bare to lose his favorite hat.

From the clash Ash learned several things. First was that Vibrava being the second evolution of the Flygon line was just as unimpressive as he expected it to be. Flygon was a force to be reckon with for sure and they were also one of the easiest dragon types to raise.

But Blast was on another level, if he were still a Dratini they would be more even. But as a Dragonair he had more access to his massive pool of energy that his line is known for. A pure dragon type like Blast was on another level than a secondary Dragon type especially one like Vibrava that was still in its weaker form. Flygon would easily tare through Blast at this point, but it wasn't a Flygon yet.

Blast slammed his tail onto the ground once again while staring at Vibrava imperiously. Golden draconic energy swirled in his jaw quickly condensing with his natural power. The attack shot from Blast's jaw in a cone shaped golden wave of power that the ground and dragon type flew above the attack to avoid the dangerous attack.

"Flamethrower then Dragon Rush!"

As Ash order the attack Vibrava released another Dragon Breath toward Blast. The attack was a red wave of angry dragon energy that Blast took with only the barest of flinches. The attack was super effective but it was still weak enough for him to shake off, his larger and thicker scales he got after evolving were a boon.

Steam was the first sign from Blast's mouth that it was building up an intense Flamethrower. The next second a swirling pillar of flame rose from Blast directly toward the flying VIbrava that couldn't do enough to avoid the powerful stream of flames.

Blast roared with effort as dark blue energy exploded out from his body. The Dragon Rush attack was similar to Pidgeotto's Brave bird in that it was an incredibly powerful tackle attack that was saturated by an abundance of power.

VIbrava used its biggest advantage and began to fly in a serpentine manner to avoid the incoming attack. However, while not with the most conventional means, Oak had Ash start teaching Blast how to manipulate dragon energy and air currents to fly. He wasn't very good at it yet since it was mostly straight lines but in a few weeks he would likely be able to manipulate air currents to fly normally.

Vibrava, not expecting Dragonair to shoot into the sky toward the ground and dragon type was completely caught off guard by the incoming attack. Gary shouted out commands and Vibrava roared out in effort as the angry red stream of dragon energy expelled from Vibrava's mouth toward Blast.

Dragon Rush was the superior move in terms of overall power, however. The red dragon breath attack slammed into Blast as it tore thought the air toward Vibrava. Blast's attack ripped through the red energy and continued to approach Vibrava with a pulsing draconic cone of energy surrounding his body.

The Dragon Rush collision was strong enough that Vibrava was knocked unconscious instantly. Gary caught his Pokémon before it hit the ground while Blast landed on his side of the field gracefully thanks to his moderate flying abilities.

The applause washed over Ash and Blast, the latter of which slammed his tail onto the ground and roared loud enough for the whole ship to hear.

Gary snarled angrily at his loss and let Ivysaur back out. The powerful grass and poison type was undeterred by the powerful dragon staring across the field at it and snarled for good measure.

Ash didn't bother giving any order, Blast could take it from here.

Ivysaur's bulb released another wave of toxins that spread out into an all encompassing cloud that Blast would be unable to avoid. But avoiding the attack wasn't what Blast was going to do, raising his snout into the air, Blast manipulated the draconic energy into a Twister that spawned in the center of the arena.

The storm of toxins were immediately sucked inside of the vortex completely neutralized before Blast could inhale any. The twister was only the first layer of neutralization as Blast reared back and let loose a powerful torrent of flame that burnt the cloud of toxins away.

Ivysaur had used the seconds that Blast dealt with the toxin cloud to fire dozens of leech seeds onto Blast's side of the field.

Ash noticed what Gary was trying to do. "Blast use flamethrower then Dragon Rage."

Hopefully the fire would burn away anything that Gary would set in his way. He was also confident in Blast's ability with his favorite technique, while Dragon Rage wasn't his strongest move anymore it was the one he used the most.

Blast slithered around the field with incredible speed only stopping for the instances that he would change directions. He was using the unpredictable movements to slow down whatever Ivysaur was planning. Ivysaur was many things but fast certainly wasn't one of them and while Gary had certainly trained his starter well he hadn't prepared it for Blast.

Ivysaur's bulb started to take on a bright golden glow as it tried to follow Blast erratic movements around the field. Blast's jaw crackled with flame as he built up his next attack, after maneuvering behind Ivysaur he released the Flamethrower.

Red hot fire tore through the air toward Ivysaur, the grass type quickly flipped around and released the Solar Beam into the Flamethrower. The two attacks met causing a violent explosion of heat that was so bright that Ash felt his eyes burn slightly as if he'd stared into the sun. Unfortunately for Blast the Solar Beam was not only stronger but hotter as it continued to push through the flames and hit Blast directly in his chest.

For the first time since Ash knew him, Blast roared out in pain from the solar beam. Ash winced at the scales on his chest that were steaming from the hit, he would need to get him to the Pokémon Center after the battle immediately.

"Dragon Rush, finish this Blast." Ash said seriously, it was over kill when another Flamethrower could likely end the battle but he wanted to be sure.

Ivysaur sent out several thick vines toward the incoming missile of dragon energy that was Blast. The vines all repeatably smashed into him as he tore through the distance with determination.

The surrounding cone of dragon type energy both increased Blast's offensive capabilities several times over as well as it gave some defensive protection so the rapid vine whips were nothing more than taps to the incoming dragon.

Ivysaur tried to build up enough energy for another Solar Beam the large bulb on started to suck in light and the on familiar glow to show that the Ivysaur was almost ready. But right as the large flower bulb was about to release the powerful beam of energy Blast crashed into the grass type with enough force that Ivysaur was launched across the field.

Gary called out for synthesis and Ash didn't have to tell Blast to finish the battle quickly. Golden draconic energy swirled into a tight ball in front of Blast's snout. Right as the green light of synthesis was about to take effect Ivysaur was hit directly on the bulb by the Dragon Rage attack.

Ivysaur grunted in pain several times while trying to get itself back to its feet. After a few unsuccessful tries the grass type collapsed face down.

Gary quickly recalled Ivysaur and put the ball back on his belt. The Oak sent Ash a nod before walking off the arena likely heading toward the Pokémon Center to fix his team up. Pidgeotto was hurt pretty bad by Umbreon's Thunder Fang.

"And with that victory Ash Ketchum earns his spot in the finals!" Ash winced at the loud applause as he walked off of the stage, he needed to get Blast checked on and Umbreon was hit by who knows how many toxins. He wouldn't leave the center until he knew that Blast and Umbreon were perfectly healthy. "Will Jason Silver and Paul Shinji come down to the arena!"

* * *

Umbreon was fine, thankfully. She was hit by a combination of several different poisons as well as Paralysis and sleep powder. Such a combo would have likely taken Blast out of the match if he had inhaled any of it.

Blast was a different story, while his scales were much stronger now that he was a Dragonair a Solar Beam at five meters directly to the chest was still too much for him. It did give him a bunch of new ideas for training his team, he had been so busy working on offense that he hadn't been worried about their resistances or defenses. That was going to change when they got off of the ship and started training again.

With the medical advancements in the recent years both Blast and Umbreon were back on their feet ready for battle after a few minutes. He had been watching the battle between Paul and Jason while he was waiting and was shocked at how quickly Paul lost his first two Pokémon.

Right now it was Jason's Feraligator battling against Paul's Pupitar. Ash had no reasonable idea how Paul managed to catch a Pupitar but he clearly did.

Unfortunately for Paul his Pupitar was not only out matched by the Feraligator but was at a bad disadvantage type wise considering it was a rock and ground type. That wasn't to say that Pupitar was weak, he could feel the earthquakes several floors up.

It was all for not as a massive Hydro Pump took Pupitar out of the fight. Ash didn't know who this Jason guy was but he had some real power houses on his team.

He would go with Metang, Pikachu and Hydro. Pikachu was fast enough to avoid anything that was thrown at him. Metang was a hard counter for anything other than a powerful fire type or a dark type that was sturdy enough to take steel type attacks. And of his entire team Hydro was the most experienced in battle, he has been with Ash the longest and could react to situations without having to wait for Ash to order him if necessary.

"There we have it folks!" The announcers voice sounded out over the television. "The finals will begin in one hour between the rookie sensation Ash Ketchum and Jason Silver for the title as champ of the first ever S.S. Anne tournament!"

Ash nodded to himself, he had an hour to work through a strategy to deal with some of the Pokémon he had seen Jason use during the tournament. So far he had seen the Bisharp from Unova and that huge Feraligator that tore through Paul's entire team, not much to go on but he'd manage.

"My advice, battle as hard as you can before he gets going. He usually lets his Pokémon battle for him unless his opponent shows skill. Take him down before he takes you seriously." The same man in the hoodie said suddenly as he appeared next to him.

Ash turned to the random guy from earlier with a raised eyebrow. "And who are you?" He asked.

The man waved a hand at Ash. "Don't worry about that, but good luck out there champ."

Ash watched bemused as the man quickly walked away while making sure that his hood stayed on and that nobody noticed him. "Ok weird guy." Muttered Ash to himself with a shake of the head.

* * *

The afternoon sun had begun to sink in the sky giving an orange glow to the battlefield. Ash slowly walked down the hallway toward the arena while taking slow and easy breaths, this would be his toughest battle yet.

Right as he exited the hallway the announcer began. "There he is folks! Ash Ketchum the rookie from Pallet Town had managed to climb his way all the way to the finals!" Jason stepped out from his hallway bringing attention to himself. "And Jason Silver! The seasoned battler hailing from Cerulean City!"

Both trainers stood on their platform and waited for the ref who was walking out to the center of the battlefield. "This will be a three on three match! The Blue trainer- Jason will be releasing his Pokémon first."

Jason wasted no time and threw an Ultra ball into the air.

Ash was prepared, he had a versatile team all of which were experienced battlers that were ready for variety of situations. Metang had become a very reliable part of the team, Pikachu was his fastest Pokémon and had some decent power and Hydro was his starter all three were ready for anything.

Except for a Salamance, a large one that was snarling impatiently as it stomped and stretched its massive wings to ready itself for the incoming battle.

He wasn't sure what he could do against that, Blast was his strongest fighter power wise but hasn't fully mastered his new form. Pidgeotto was a fair flyer but wouldn't be able to scratch the absurdly powerful dragon even with Brave Bird.

Nothing less to do but try, Ash released Pikachu first. The small yellow rodent turned back to Ash and looked at him as if he was crazy. If he were honest he couldn't blame Pikachu for being overwhelmed, Ash certainly was.

"Begin!" Shouted the ref.

Salamance flapped its massive wings once and exploded into the air creating a powerful gust of wind that push Pikachu back several feet. Ash planned to take down the terror of Hoenn if it was the last thing he did in the tournament, it was likely going to be the last thing he did.

"Blitz around the arena then Thunderbolt use every bit of power you have!" Ordered Ash, it was self explanatory for Pikachu to use all of his power against an opponent that was vastly more experienced that him but he said it anyway.

Pikachu became a yellow blur of motion as it erratically moved around the field. Lightning crackled around Pikachu's cheeks as he prepared a Thunderbolt.

While Pikachu was preparing his attack, Salamance had rose incredibly high into the sky. The blue dragon suddenly dove straight toward the battlefield so fast that Ash could barely follow the blur.

Ash and Pikachu were unable to process what Salamance was doing before the dragon crashed directly into the battlefield with enough force that the explosion instantly blasted Pikachu back into the psychic barriers.

Ash numbly recalled Pikachu as he stared blankly toward the battlefield. The terrain was cracked and broken with a huge crater in the center that was Salamance's point of impact. The sheer force of the crash had to have been stronger than Pupitar's earthquake considering it didn't even come close to destroying the ground of the arena during its battle.

"What an incredible show of power! How will Ash Ketchum stand against the unstoppable force that is Salamance!" The crowd and the announcer were far more interested in the outcome of the battle than Ash was at this point.

Ash reached back to the five Pokéballs attached to his belt, he grabbed Metang's ball and sighed. He tossed out the ball and the levitating steel and psychic type Pokémon took to the field with the same immovable confidence it was known for.

"Salamance took out Pikachu! Confusion then Meteor Mash!"

Metang's eyes glowed at the news about Pikachu, it didn't necessarily have emotions but Metang's hive mentality made it so that it didn't like for anyone close to it to be hurt.

Salamance was lazily flapping its massive wings slow enough to just hover in the air right above the battlefield. Ash could see the all the muscles coiling and the incredibly thick scales twitch with every movement. Nothing short of Snor's Hyper beam would make that monster of a Pokémon feel any sort of pain.

It was no longer about winning the battle, it was about taking down the monster hovering in the air.

The ref signaled for the start of the match and Metang immediately activated Confusion. Salamance's head twitched slightly before it zeroed in on Metang. Blue draconic energy exploded around Salamance before it charged toward Metang.

Both large claws locked together magnetically before steel type energy coated Metang's arms and quickly became thicker and thicker as Metang prepared Meteor Mash.

Both Hoenn pseudo legendaries charged each other while being surrounded by a storm of their natural energy. Meteor Mash and Dragon Rush clashed and for an instant nothing happened, both energies swirled and gurgled as they merged before an immense explosion overtook the field.

Ash instinctively turned away from the explosion as it impacted against the barriers. The smoke was slowly starting to clear and the two Pokémon were revealed. Metang was unconscious on the ground while both red eyes flickered off and on.

Salamance looked noticeably tired as it hovered in the air, both wings had soot and most of its front looked hurt from the direct impact of Meteor Mash. Ash sighed tiredly, of course a halfway mastered Meteor Mash wasn't enough to do any real damage.

For a moment Ash considered using Hydro like he planned, he was skilled enough but he didn't have the raw power necessary. Instead Ash tossed out the Pokéball containing Blast. On being released from his ball Blast lost his superior demeanor and stared seriously at Salamance who regarded the Dragonair with slight interest.

Not paying attention to the announcer Ash called out his orders. "Metang and Pikachu were taken out in one hit! Dragon Dance then Dragon Rush!"

Dragon Dance was Blast's project that Ash gave him before he initially sent him to Oak's to get used to his new body. It was a simple move that only really required having good control over his draconic energy and being able to keep a constant steam circulating in his body while he attacked.

Blast let out a deep horn like roar as red and purple energy swirled around him as he increased his offensive abilities. The dragon energy began to swirl around Blast as Dragon Rush started to activate, the move created a cone of power around the Dragonair that increased the pressure on the battlefield with the dense energy surrounding him.

Salamance similarly prepared Dragon Rush but it was noticeably easier to form and the cone surrounding it looked thicker and far stronger.

The two dragons exploded toward each other, Ash clenched his fists as Blast neared the fully evolved dragon with his strongest move. Both dragons slammed into the other at incredible speeds to supplement their already powerful moves even further.

Once again the clash caused a huge explosion with a boom loud enough that Ash's ears rang and was bright enough for Ash to see spots. The thick smoke hovered over the battlefield keeping Ash from seeing what exactly happened to Blast. He wasn't dumb enough to think that he won that battle but he was at least hoping that his dragon wasn't too injured both Umbreon and Metang were likely in a bad place.

The Psychics around the field slowly pushed the smoke away from the battlefield to reveal the fallout. The arena floor was in ruin, the concussive force behind two Dragon Rush's meeting was enough to shatter the already ruined ground for there to be nothing flat larger than half a square foot. The barriers were noticeably strained as it was still glowing with power as Alakazam and Mr Mime were force to suddenly increase the thickness of the shields right before the clash.

Salamance was breathing heavily as it stood on the crumpled floor of the arena. Both wings were pulled in and one eye was closed. On the other side Blast was sprawled on the ground failing in his fight to stay conscious. Ash called it for his prideful friend and recalled the dragon back into his Pokéball.

"AND THERE WE HAVE IT!" Roared the Announcer after seeing the fallout. "ROOKIE KETCHUM STOPPED DEAD IN HIS TRACKS BY TRAINER SILVER!"

Ash quickly walked off of the field to hurry towards the Center, he knew that the three involved in this hopeless battle were going to need to be looked at by Nurse Joy.

Running to the elevator he quickly jumped in as the doors were closing. Breathing a sigh of relief he tapped the button for the main deck and waited.

"Tough break buddy." A feminine voice said consolingly.

Ash turned and his eyes widened in shock, he somehow completely missed a stunningly beautiful women standing in the elevator. She was about his height with long red hair, she had a curvy body that was hugged tightly by her white dress.

Regaining his composure he nodded tightly to her, "Thanks, not much I could have done at my level." Ash knew it was the truth but he didn't have to like it.

The beautiful women put a hand on his arm, "I bet that doesn't make it easier. So whats next for the rookie sensation?" She asked seemingly interested in him.

Ash shrugged, "Not sure why?"

The women shrugged with a slight giggle. "I don't really care just curious." The elevator doors opened on the main deck.

Ash quickly stepped out, he wanted to get away from the strange women as quickly as possible. She waved at him as the doors closed causing him to shake his head.

What's with him and meeting strange people?

* * *

The ceremony was as grand as he would have expected from the illustrious Silph Co. Fireworks blasted into the night sky as Jason, Gary, Paul and himself all stood on the completely repaired arena.

"I can't believe this guy had a monster like that up his sleeve." Muttered Gary to him. The Oak hadn't been as angry as Ash expected after his loss and was surprisingly, Ash wouldn't necessarily say kind, but nice after Ash's loss.

Paul grunted on the other side of Gary, "All of his team were monsters, Feraligator took a Thunder from Electabuzz then went on to beat Grotle. He was on a completely different level than all of us."

Ash nodded to himself at Paul's words. That Jason guy had a team that was likely above eighth badge level and here he was battling them in a tournament. Ash seriously doubted that he needed the free trip to the Safari Zone, guy already had some real monsters on his team.

The sound of heels drew Ash's attention from his thoughts. Coming onto the stage was the same beautiful women from the elevator earlier. She wore a bright smile as she looked into the cameras that flashed repeatably once they noticed her.

"Thank you all for coming!" She cheered with a clap, her attitude was bubbly and gleaming white teeth shined behind her million dollar smile. "My name is Arianna and I am the Silph Co. Vice President of Public Relations. I will be the MC for the award ceremony."

Her voice was heard by every passenger thanks to all the microphones in front of her. She then gestured to Paul and Gary. "These two rookies fought with all they had and made it to the semi finals! For that we at Silph decided to award them both third place!"

Cheers were the crowds response to Arianna's news, "For third place Silph has gifted both of you a cash prize as well as these-" Arianna gestured to the two Silph employees next to her who held up two boxes both containing five ultra balls. "We hope these two rookies put these to good use!"

More cheers sounded out and Ash smiled when he saw Paul and Gary's gobsmacked faces when they opened their checks.

"Next we have a crowd favorite! Our rookie sensation- Ash Ketchum!" The cheers before were nothing compared to the eruption of applause that sounded after they heard his name.

Arianna waited for the applause to die down before continuing, "For second place Ash will receive the same prizes as third place as well as this!" She pulled out a small piece of paper and handed it to Ash.

Looking down he felt his heart stop, it was a free certificate for one free TM in the Celadon Department store. Basically it was his chance to buy a permanent Hyper Beam TM once he got to Celadon. The tens of thousands if not over one hundred thousand for a permanent Hyper Beam being completely covered as a prize was a much better prize than he was expecting. Not to mention the cash and five ultra balls.

"First place we have Jason Silver! A veteran trainer who came out on top thanks to his years of experience in the battlefield!" Applause sounded out again but not near as excited as they were for Ash a moment ago. It was true that an underdog story touched more than the vastly more experienced battler winning out because his Pokémon were so superior it wasn't even worth battling over apparently.

Ash tuned out the noise as Arianna explained that along with all the other prizes handed out Jason would be allowed into the Safari Zone the next time he was there completely on Silph Co's dime. It was a great prize, Ash had no doubt in that regard but it didn't seem to him to be all that great. From what he read the Safari Zone, while having some really rare Pokémon, had strict rules against challenging Pokémon. You have to befriend them or capture them with bate and a Safari Ball.

He was sure that any Pokémon worth the trouble of convincing to join your team likely wouldn't be interested in joining without battling first. Blast wouldn't have liked him if he hadn't seen Pidgeotto win against Paul's Grotle beforehand.

As the last wave of applause died down Ash payed more attention.

"Thank you all for coming! We wish you a fun time on the S.S. Anne!" With that final statement Arianna quickly rushed away from the stage off to the closest hallway likely to ride an elevator to the VIP section. Considering she was a VP in the company that owned the boat she likely had a top tier room.

Gary yawned next to him reminding Ash of his presence. "Well not that this wasn't fun but I'm out of here. Kadabra said we're still close enough that he can teleport us back to Vermillion."

The Kadabra in question appeared with a flash of his Pokéball release. Gary gave a wave and rested his hand on the Pokémon's shoulder. "See you two at the Indigo Conference." With that Gary was instantly transported away.

Paul left without a word to Ash seemingly done for the day as well.

With a yawn Ash decided that he was done himself. Turning over to the east side of the ship he walked toward one of the hallways. He had a comfy bed and he was going to use it.

* * *

It was the smell of smoke that woke him.

Ash shot up from his bed and all of his Pokémon roused from their sleep at his sudden movements. Taking a few sniffs Ash smelt smoke and the room looked a little hazy from the low amounts of smoke coming into the room.

"Everyone up! We got a situation!" Shouted Ash, Hydro was the first to shoot up with the others slowly following. Blast was the only one to ignore him and stay curled up on the bed. Ash was saved from having to wake him when Pikachu tapped the dragon lightly giving him a small shock.

Before Blast could respond to the shocking awakening a boom sounded out and the ship groaned from whatever hit it. Ash threw the door open and looked down the hallway.

Cracks lined the walls and ceiling and some of the rooms had fires in them. Two men were laughing as they walked down the room while tossing a Pokéball up in down in their hands.

They noticed Ash and quickly tossed their Pokéballs releasing two Houndoom that barked and growled at Ash. "Take that brat down and get his Pokéballs!" One of the two men said and the two dark and fire types quickly rushed into action.

Ash dove back into his room to escape two charging Houndoom. Right as the two dogs rounded the corner into the doorway to Ash's room they were blasted by a combination of water, lightning, darkness and dragon type energy. Both Houndoom yelped in pain and crashed back into the wall, right as they were about to get up Metang slammed into them with a powerful Metal Claw knocking them out.

Ash ran out the room and pointed to the two men, "Metang knock them out with Confusion!"

Metang's eyes glowed with psychic energy, both men screamed as their minds were warped by the powerful psychic power. The rest of Ash's team made their way into the hallway, Ash turned to them seriously. "We need to get to the main deck, thats where the explosions keep happening."

Another tremor shook the ship making Ash stumble, he was held steady by Metang's psychic abilities. Taking a deep breath Ash brought out several Pokéballs, "Some of you are too big to run through these hallways, so for now Pikachu and Umbreon will stay out."

Some sounds of protests mostly from Blast and Hydro came out making Ash smile at their concern. "Don't be like that, both of them are plenty strong and I can always release you all if I need you."

Umbreon barked at the team seemingly upset that they didn't believe that she could protect their trainer, Ash bent down and scratched her ears to calm the dark type. Pikachu jumped up and settled on his shoulder while sniffing the air.

Ash recalled the rest of his team and quickly started to make his way down the hallway toward the nearest stairway. He wasn't going to risk the elevator in a fire. Rounding the corner toward the staircase he was met with more people raiding the rooms this time with Grimer and Koffing.

"Take em down." Ash said and Pikachu and Umbreon quickly jumped into action.

Yellow lightning blasted toward the two Pokémon while Umbreon assaulted the Grimer with Confusion completely finishing the poison type off with the one attack. The trainers sputtered in shock at their Pokémon taken out so quickly.

"You two morons! Head down to the deck and help Arianna with the Hoenn guy!" A deep voice roared from inside the room they were raiding.

Out walked a man in an all black business suit with a red R on the breast. He had a scowl on his face as he eyed Ash. "So its the rookie from the tournament. I'll finish you quick."

The man tossed out a Pokéball and a huge fifteen foot purple snake Pokémon appeared. The Arbok hissed and swayed hypnotically as it glared at Pikachu and Umbreon.

"Umbreon use Confusion then Dark Pulse. Pikachu use Iron Tail."

Pikachu zapped off of Ash's shoulder and in a flash the yellow rodent's tail glowed with the he familiar steel type energy. With agility that Pikachu was known for he jumped and slammed his tail onto the top of Arbok's head causing it to face plant on the hard ground. Arbok was about to bite down on the electric type but before the large snake could it screamed out in pain.

Umbreon was staring intently at the large poison type as it writhed on the ground in pain. The dark type built up her natural energy while mentally assaulting the large snake Pokémon with Confusion. The tight beam of dark energy slammed into the snake's neck with a nasty crack.

"Thunderbolt!" Ordered Ash, Pikachu quickly blasted the snake with a yellow bolt of lighting getting another scream out of the snake before it collapsed onto the floor.

The man sneered at Ash, "To think you'd take down Arbok you brat." He was fishing around his pocket likely looking for another Pokémon.

Ash didn't even bother responding to the criminal and signaled for Pikachu to zap the man. Right as the rocket member was about to release another Pokémon he was assaulted by thousands of volts of electricity sending him to the ground in a smoldering heap.

"We need to get to the main deck, they're doing something." Pikachu and Umbreon sounded out their affirmative and Ash rushed down the hallway.

Making it out to the main deck Ash surveyed the chaos. Hundreds of Pokémon were in an all out brawl, flying types screeching in the air as they ripped into each other with their sharp talons. ACE trainers and their Pokémon were bolting around the main deck trying to get the passengers to the Alakazam's so they could be teleported away from the ship.

Before Ash could jump into the battle he heard a roar so loud that it shook him to the bone. He whipped his head around to find the source of the noise. Toward the front of the ship an absolutely massive Dragonite was battling with a Metagross.

Ash wasn't totally sure but he suspected that a rocket executive was battling with Lance. If their conversation yesterday was anything to go by then the executives were at elite four level so Ash was definitely going to stay clear of that battle.

"We need to make sure that everyone gets off the ship. It doesn't look like it will be staying afloat much longer." Ash said to Umbreon and Pikachu before he tossed out Metang's ball.

Seriousness washed over Ash as Metang surveyed the battlefield. "Is there anyone by themselves?" Red eyes flashed as psychic energy spread out from the Hoenn Pokémon.

Seeing that Metang found someone he gestured for it to go. "Take me to them."

* * *

The top floor of the S.S. Anne was in ruins. Paintings and luxurious rugs were burnt and walls were destroyed by some sort of explosion.

Metang levitated to the the room at the end of the hall and smashed it with Metal Claw. Ash ran inside but right as he entered the room he was hit in his ribs by something strong and solid.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Ash!" Ash groaned and looked over to see an apologetic Melanie as she patted her Bagon on the head. "What are you doing here!?"

"Im here to get you out of here, the ship's going down." Ash said in a hurry while reaching out for her to grab his hand. "The ACE trainers have set up Alakazam's so people can get off of the boat. We have to hurry or were going to have to swim!"

Another thunderclap sounded out and the entire ship tipped to the side causing Ash and Melanie to fall over. Both quickly jumped back up and ran out of the room.

Fires started to spread from the lower levels and smoke started to fill the hallway. Ash tossed out Hydro's ball so that he could put out the fires so they didn't pass out from smoke inhalation.

"What's going on!" Shouted Melanie as she quickly closed the door to the stair case that was a burning inferno making it impossible for them to get back to the main deck.

"These team rocket jerks are attacking the ship! We got to get out of here the fires are starting to spread, if we don't hurry the ACE trainers may cut their losses and leave the ship." Ash said frantically as he ordered Hydro to put out the fires.

Compact beams of water blasted against the walls putting out fires as quickly as they sprouted up. Smoke started to fill the hallway and Ash pointed toward the wall, "Hydro blast the wall we need to let the smoke out!"

A tight water pulse smashed into the wall making a large whole, several more followed the first and after a few seconds a huge doorway was open. Ash and Melanie quickly rushed out to the top walkway.

Ash could see many trainers riding away on their Pokémon either in the water or in the air. "I'm going to have Metang carry us down to the main deck."

Melanie nodded and Ash tossed out the Pokéball with Metang. "Can you carry us back down to the main deck or to an Alakazam!" Metang hummed and lowered itself allowing both of them to climb on top.

As they were being lowered several rocket members noticed them, "That's one of the targets the kid with the Metang and Dragonair!"

Ash and Melanie lowered themselves on the back of Metang, "Psyshock! Get them off of us!"

Pink psychic energy crackled between the two large claws, bolts of energy blasted the team rocket Pokémon as Metang lowered them. Streams of fire tore into the air toward Metang, psychic energy surrounded them as the fire approached them.

Flames washed over the barrier that stayed strong under the intense flames. When the fire died down bolts of psychic energy shot out toward the two Houndoom taking them out quickly. Ash reached back and tossed out another ball.

Blast materialized in the air and quickly steadied himself by manipulating the air currents. "Blast we need you to keep us safe until we get back to the bottom floor."

A deep growl came from Blast as he quickly returned fire at the attacking Pokémon on the floors that they were passing. Two Golbat flew out toward them with glowing fangs dripping with dark purple poison.

Before the poison type could reach them Blast intercepted it with a powerful Dragon Rage that sent them to the ground. Blast circled them protectively and would quickly smack down any approaching flying type without restraint.

Metang finally lowered them to main deck and allowed them to get off. Blast shot an Ice Beam at a Murkrow that was about to attack them with Nightshade.

"Metang where are the Alakazam? We need to get out of here!" Ash asked frantically, he didn't plan on going down with the ship.

"Ash!" Ash whipped his head around to see Steven of all people running up to him with his signature Metagross floating behind him. "You need to get off of the boat now! All the league trainers and Silph trainers are gone we thought all the passengers were off already."

"No Melanie was still up at the top so Metang and I went and got her." Explained Ash, "Wait how will we get off if their aren't any Alakazam's left how are we getting off the ship?"

"I'm not swimming to Fuchsia." Melanie commented as she looked at the former Hoenn Champion worriedly.

Steven snapped his fingers and another Alakazam teleported next to them, "The league lent me him for the time being. He'll-"

Everyone fell to their knees as a massive amount of pressure ripped into the ship. Massive cracks formed on the foundation and a loud groan sounded out. Everyone looked to see the entire right side of the ship as it started to crumble and collapse under the incredible pressure.

Water exploded out from the cracks in the floor as the ship stared to sink under the pressure. Steven and Metagross managed to pull themselves to their feet. The Metagross quickly formed a bubble of psychic energy around the three of them allowing Ash and Melanie to climb back to their feet.

"What the hell was that!?" Screamed Melanie as she tried to catch her breath from the shock.

Ash recalled Blast and Metang as the Water started to rise higher and higher. "I don't know but it doesn't matter, we need to get off of the boat!" Yelled Ash as he started to hold onto the railing as more and more water started to fill the boat.

Steven nodded, "Alakazam get us out of here, the meeting point is in celedon." Somehow he was keeping his composure under these terrifying turn of events.

Alakazam raised both spoons and started to glow as it prepared the teleportation. Right before Alakazam moved to teleport them Ash was knocked off of his feet by another tremor.

Ash climbed back to his feet and saw that Steven and Melanie were gone and he was alone. The pressure from before picked up again making Ash unable to climb higher to avoid the rising water levels. Beneath the surface in the water a blue light grew brighter and brighter as it got closer to the ship.

As the light deep in the ocean rose so did the water around it. The water didn't spread into the ship however, it seemed to move as it was a solid object. What ever was in the light was capable of picking up the very ocean itself. The pressure surrounding the water was so strong that more and more of the ship was crushed and sunk into the depths of the ocean.

Millions of gallons of water rose high above the ship as the light was finally at the ships level. From within the light Ash could make out a strange figure that was covered in some sort of technological helmet and gear, the blackout glass face cover couldn't contain the endless power that was shining in the eyes of the monster.

The air became heavy and the monster raised its right arm toward the already broken side of the ship. Air condensed in on itself before a thunderclap sounded out and the entire right side of the ship disintegrated instantly under the improvised air cannon. The monster didn't skip a beat as it raised its arm in Ash's direction.

Ash tried to move out of the way, tried to move in any direction to save himself from the monsters incredible power. Shrieking winds converged on the space in front of the monster's hand as the air condensed tighter and tighter as the air cannon prepared to fire.

 _Human leave this place you are not necessary yet._

Ash screamed as his head was assaulted by a powerful psychic power to allow the monster to speak with him telepathically. He tried to tell the monster that it was impossible to move but he couldn't even move his lips to form words.

 _Pathetic to have such weakness to my presence. I will send you away, I have foreseen your presence taking part in a future event so I will not smash you today._

More pain assaulted Ash's head as the monster spoke to him. The condensed ball of air was dissipated by the monster absentmindedly, the ease in which the monster released the attack that disintegrated half a mile of the worlds best ship in an instant was terrifying.

Ash screamed as the monster pointed one of its three fingers at him and he felt his body fold in on itself. The crude form of teleportation made Ash feel like he was being squeezed into a bottle.

The last thing Ash saw before he blacked out was a silver haired man running over to him.

* * *

 _Author's Notes_

Thanks for all the OC's for everyone who sent in their own.

Now I want to say that I hated writing this chapter. I tried to make it original but this is usually done by every story on this site. The template was a tournament then the raid but everything I wrote seemed either over the top or dumb.

I decided to go with a chaotic situation that Ash was trying to wade through. The perspective of the story is Ash's, he's not going to know everything on sight instantly like some stories I've seen. He wasn't going run over and help Lance in his battle when he knew his team wasn't strong enough. He did go to help someone out of his heroic instincts. Next chapter will be soon but school is keeping me busy so don't expected it in three days like I have somehow been able to update recently.


	8. Celadon City

_World of Pokémon #8_

 _ACE Trainers. Known as the Pokémon League's elite task force. Every trainer allowed into the organization had defeated a league circuit and made it into the top sixty four. With a team rivaling a Gym leader each ACE trainer were looked at as an Elite to be respected._

 _An ACE trainer is constantly on the move, investigating not only criminal activity but wild Pokémon Activity. Ranger protected the wild Pokémon from poachers, ACE trainers protected people from Pokémon._

 _Along with their solo assignments an ACE trainer could be called in for larger operations. These types of situations were what gave the organization its title of Elite Strike force. Most criminals didn't look over their shoulder for a Gym leader or Cop._

 _They were watching out for ACE._

* * *

The sun glaring in his face woke him. Confusion filled Ash as his senses returned to him - last thing he remembered was the ship being destroyed, glowing blue eyes and feelings of horror mixed with awe. How did he survive? And where was he?

Ash put his head in his hands trying to remember exactly what happened before he passed out. Looking up and gazing out the window he saw a familiar sight - Celadon City. The sun was just starting to rise over the vast metropolis.

Like a bolt from Pikachu Ash remembered everything. The tournament, the Rockets attacking, the ship the chaos and the monster.

Ash frantically whipped his head around the room, he needed to make sure that his team was ok. He looked down to see he was in a hospital gown and his right arm had an iv in it.

With tremendous force he pushed himself up reached over to grab the iv for support and stood from the bed. He needed to figure out where his team was and if they were ok.

He made it to the door to the room before he was stopped but a doctor walking in. "Back to bed Mr Ketchum, you need to rest for the day at the very least." It was a polite order and Ash obeyed, albeit reluctantly.

Sitting beck in bed Ash held himself together for half a second before he exploded with questions. "Where are my Pokémon? How long-"

A raised hand from the doctor stopped him, "Mr Ketchum it has been two days as of three hours ago. Your Pokémon are in the care of Professor Oak and your mother, both of which are eating breakfast down in the cafeteria."

Ash's eyes widened at the mention of his mother and sponsor being in the hospital. He was worried that he was going to have to call and tell them. Well, his mother at least, the professor likely knew what happened shortly after the incident occurred.

The doctor nodded into his clipboard before removing the iv from Ash's arm. "Now that you are awake I have to notify your mother as well as the authorities. Breakfast will be brought to you shortly."

Ash watched as the doctor left with a sigh. By himself Ash had nothing to distract himself from thinking about the ship.

About the monster.

Endless power shown inside glowing blue eyes. The thunderous voice so loud in his head it felt like his skull was ripping in half. As well as its power, such absurd power at its figures which it used to completely obliterate the entire ship with a single attack. Its mere presence was so powerful that Ash could barely move.

How was such a thing alive? How could anyone stop-

"Ash!" Two arms wrapped around him and held him with such strength that he couldn't breath.

"Let the boy breath Delia." A calm voice said in the next second.

Thankfully Ash was released from his mothers hold and caught his breath. Looking up he saw the worry in his mothers eyes and the relief in the professors. It made him happy that they came all the way here to see him.

"Tell us what happened." It was the professor that broke the silence with a serious tone.

Ash sighed, "I don't-"

The door to his room slammed open getting the three inhabitants to turn towards the door. In walked Lt Surge in all his near seven foot glory, muscles tensed and fury wretched on his face. Next to him was a calmer man smaller but no less intimidating the Champion still looked to be the most serious out of everyone.

"Good to see you up runt!" Boomed Surge as he walked to the other side of his bed with Lance following behind him. All four adults were standing around his bed with tense expressions.

"Can't you two wait until he's out of the hospital? He just woke up." Delia snarled toward the two trainers as if they weren't some of the most influential league officials in the world.

Lance shook his head and Oak put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Ms Ketchum but we need to know what Mr Ketchum here knows then we will be out of your hair." Lance said calmly.

Delia turned away with a nod and once again all the attention was on him. "Go on runt, tell us what happened. Stone told us you were the last survivor on the boat."

Ash swallowed, "After Melanie and I got back to the main deck everyone was gone. Most of the Rockets left already and so did the Alakazam and their ACE trainers. Luckily Steven saw us and we were about to leave when."

Ash clenched his fists and took another breath, nobody said anything but he could feel them telling him to continue. "Pressure or intense gravity, an unbelievable about smashed into us, we couldn't move or anything. Steven's Metagross put up a barrier allowing us to stand again and the Alakazam with him started to teleport us when a tremor shook the ship knocking me back. When I got back up they were gone."

"That matches word for word with Steven and Ms Melanie's report." Nodded Lance, "What happened next, how did you get off the ship?"

Ash did speak for a bit, the others grew restless and Surge looked like he was about to say something when Ash finally spoke up.

"A monster showed up, from deep within the depths of the ocean it rose toward the ship and the closer it got the worse the pressure got. The very ocean rose around the ship held perfectly still as if it weren't millions of gallons of water."

Ash took another breath while everyone in the room waited for him to continue all silent and tense.

"I didn't get a good look at it, it was covered in some sort of technology, a helmet, chest piece and wires running all around its body. It wasn't a machine though, it was just wearing those things. But once it was at the ship it raised its arm and condensed so much air in front of its hand that a single shot completely disintegrated half of the ship in an instant. It was about to do the same to my side when it noticed me. It said for me to leave as I was unnecessary and when it learned that I couldn't so much as speak under its pressure it teleported me away. It said that it foresaw me in a future even so it wouldn't smash me yet. Then I woke up here."

Delia looked horrified at the news and took his hand in hers to comfort him or herself, Ash wasn't sure. The other three all were silent as they thought about what they just heard.

"This is grave news." Started Lance voice deep and serious. "Mr Ketchum, thank you for bringing this to our attention. I will say this, no one is to repeat what was said here without my express permission. Am I understood?" The tone the dragon master demanded obedience and the others all nodded.

"If what Ash said was accurate then the creature has powerful psychic abilities likely on the legendary level but the only legendaries that have psychic abilities on this side of the planet are Mew and Celebi." Oak thought out loud.

Ash and Lance turned to each other with wide eyes. "This is what did it!" Shouted Ash getting a jump out of his mother at his sudden yell.

Surge seemed nonplussed, "Mind explaining your breakthrough runt." getting a nod out of Oak and Delia.

It was Lance that explained, "During a rocket raid in Mt Moon that Ash and Steven stopped, all of the rockets were mysteriously teleported away without any Pokémon in the area capable of such a thing. Ash suspected that a Pokémon teleported them from a different location to which I told him it would take a legendary level of power to accomplish such a feat. We now have a prime suspect."

Ash looked down at his hand that was being crushed by his mothers, "You never told me about that." His mother whispered calmly which honestly scarred him more than if she screamed at him.

"This solves one mystery but certainly makes another. Namely - how did the rockets get such a monster?" Wondered Lance out loud. "Thank you for the information Mr Ketchum, I would tell you that the Silph President would like to speak with you, he is residing on the top floor of the Department Store as a temporary office."

Lance left without another word and Surge grinned down at him, "I saw you in the tournament runt. Excellent work, a little more and you would've taken that Salamance down. Come by my gym again if you want another battle."

Now just the three of them Oak reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his Pokéballs. "They are all healed up and very restless to see you. Particularly Umbreon and Wartortle."

Ash smiled and released Umbreon who pounced onto Ash happily licking his cheek. He pet her as she laid across his lap. Next he released Hydro who jumped and gave him a hug while yelling happily.

"I missed you two too." Said Ash, "Thanks for looking after them." He told his mother and professor. He would have released the rest of his team but the room wasn't big enough for everyone to fit.

"It was fine my boy, I haven't gotten many chances to observe a Metang in person." Waved off Professor Oak. "Delia, now that Ash is ok I think we should head back to Pallet to get back to work. Later Alakazam will take us back, Ash it was good to see you."

"Good to see you too Professor." Ash said before the professor left the room.

Delia sighed tiredly, "I'm not going to ask what happened in Mt Moon." Ash breathed out a sigh at that. "But I will tell you to take it easy, twice you have been in the hospital since starting I hope that is the last time for a long time."

"Trust me I don't want this to keep happening." Ash said with a chuckle.

"Well, I will stay for a bit longer then I need to head back home. Now tell me how your team is doing."

* * *

Ash smiled up at the blue skies above Celadon as he took his first steps out of the hospital. He only had to spend another night after waking up but the constant monitoring and questions got tedious after the twentieth time the nurse asked if he felt ok.

Since he was back in Celadon he decided to go by the department store, both because he had a considerable amount of funds after coming in second in the tournament. He had already deposited the check that night so he was sitting pretty nice with nearly two hundred thousand in his account.

Also he wanted to know what the president of the Silph Corporation wanted with him. Sure he was a survivor of the S.S. Anne tragedy but so were fourteen thousand other people and he was sure that they weren't going to meet with him.

The Celadon Department store was the tallest building in the city. Sitting at just over eighty stories. The bottom five were the mall and the rest were…something else. Ash never did find out what they were but that didn't really matter.

Walking inside Ash was met with a sea of people walking around shopping at the different booths. Not just trainer supplies but regular clothes and items that any mall would carry.

Ash went over to the help desk, "Excuse me, my name is Ash Ketchum and I was told that the President of Silph wanted to speak with me." The absurdity of what he was saying wasn't lost to Ash as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The women rolled her eyes and typed his name into the computer. After a second her eyes widened in surprise, "Well Mr Ketchum, it says here to allow you up as soon as you show up. The elevator straight in the back will take you to the top floor."

Ash nodded and walked off, while he walked through he saw several things that interested him. Winter clothes that were going to become necessary in the coming weeks and some new shoes.

Entering the elevator Ash pressed the button up to the top.

After what was far to short an amount of time the elevator opened up and the top floor was revealed. It was the typical office with a receptionist behind a desk and two tinted glass doors with the words Silph on them.

"Ah, Mr Ketchum. He is in there waiting on you." The receptionist said kindly.

"Thanks." Said Ash as he walked into the office.

Inside sitting behind a large mahogany desk was a large man in an expensive suit typing away into some handheld devise. He had grey streaks in his otherwise brown hair and a firm frown on his face.

"Ash!" turning to the voice Ash was surprised to see Melanie sitting on a couch with Togepi on her lap trilling happily.

"What are you doing here Melanie?" Asked Ash confused.

Melanie stood up and walked over to him. "Daddy wanted to speak with you and I want to say thank you again."

Daddy? Oh, OH! "Your father is the president of Silph." Said Ash flatly.

The President stood from his desk and walked around towards Ash. Now that he was standing Ash could see just how large he was. While not Surge's monstrous near seven feet tall and hulking muscles he was over six feet with a strong frame.

"I wanted to thank you personally Ash Ketchum." His voice was warm and kind far different than what he was expecting.

"Melanie and I were separated and my security forced me away before I could get to her. Trust me they will be punished accordingly." Ash held in a flinch at those words, the man didn't yell nor did he have any malicious overtones but the darkness in his eyes and the sheer power he commanded frightened Ash far more.

He extended a hand which Ash took. "My name is Robert Mazor and I want to thank you again."

Melanie jumped in as it was about to get awkward, "I think thats enough daddy, tell Ash what you told me." She said before waling out of the room after her Pokégear started ringing.

The President perked up and ran over to the desk. "There isn't any amount of money too much to repay you for my daughters life but I will try." He extended a small black card with his name on it. "For the rest of the day you can buy whatever you want no matter how much from the department store. TM's, clothes, supplies anything all yours, use that card and it will be covered. Trust me you could literally buy the department store and it would be covered." He gave a hearty laugh after he finished speaking.

Ash's throat tightened as he tried to form words. "This is too much!" He shouted while looking at the card.

The President continued to laugh, "Nonsense! I would give this entire business to save my daughters life, repaying the man who saved her is nothing!"

Ash relented and put the card in his pocket. "Thanks Mr. Mazor."

Right before Ash was about to leave he was stopped by the president. "Now there is something I need to make sure you understand before you go."

The President sat down behind his desk, no longer the jovial man he just was. "The incident on my ship is not something I want to let the people of Kanto or Johto to learn about. All the survivors have already been spoken to by representatives of my company about what will be reported."

Ash took a breath and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk as the president continued.

"Thankfully the casualty count is just under five percent so it was negligible for news broadcasts. especially since the passenger count was never reported. Officially the disaster was a swarm of Gyarados being disturbed by the large ship causing us to evacuated from the damage caused to the ship. Most will brush it off and a few weeks from now no one other than the survivors themselves will care. I'm sure you don't want to be reminded of this so keeping it quiet is more to the survivors benefit anyway." The President said with a fake smile plastered on his face.

"I understand," ' _your stock prices would plummet if word got out,_ ' Thought Ash seeing through the mans reasons instantly. The happy cheerful father was clearly a far different man that was sitting in front of him. The President of the most powerful business on the planet who was second only to Charles Goodshow in terms of political and influential power. He clearly didn't get to where he was with a charming smile and a firm handshake.

He clapped loudly with a relieved smile on his face, "Excellent Mr Ketchum excellent! Now I must say that if you ever need anything Silph would be happy to help you."

Ash smiled once more and shook the mans hand again, "Thanks again Mr Mazor, I'll definitely be putting the card to good use, if that is all."

The President nodded and went back to his handheld device.

Ash let out a breath once he was back on the Pokémon Trainer supply floor. If five percent of the S.S. Anne passengers dying was a 'negligible' amount then he was going to use this card to the absolute max without concern. Considering five percent added up to nearly eight hundred deaths he felt true disdain toward the president's lack of empathy.

So he was going to go crazy. First stop was his clothes, he needed all new traveling gear - weather resistant, durable and all that. His shoes were wearing out so a new pair would be nice and a thick winter coat because why not. His shirt had a stain on it so a new wardrobe was obvious.

* * *

Ash grinned at his brand new backpack, it was fire retardant, weather resistant and had far more storage. Top of the line and inside was his entire new trainer wardrobe, looking down he smirked at his new running shoes. Thicker soles for the tougher landscapes but still light enough for him to run as fast as he could.

Now he was at the real part of the department, the part that he was most interested in at least. The second floor where the TM kiosk was, and where he was going to buy everything he could.

"Yes and how may I help you sir?" The women behind the desk said amicably.

Ash smirked up at her, "I'm going to be buying a lot so it might be easier if I went though and got what I want. This will be covering my expenses." He slid the solid black card toward the women and she looked at it shocked.

"Y-Yes sir, the terminal over there has everything you will need." She handed the card back to him and he went over to the terminal to make his selection.

Blizzard, Fire Blast, Focus Blast, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, Thunder, Shadow Ball, Earthquake, Teleport, Thunderbolt, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Rock Slide, Aerial Ace and Zen Headbutt. A lot of moves some of which were normally way to expensive to buy rather than to teach but Ash had a coupon in the form a black card and he was going to spend as much as he possibly could. Unfortunately, to have a permanent TM you need high level clearance that Steven apparently used when he got Ice Beam and Flamethrower in Cerulean. Maybe he could have his disks upgraded but for now one use was plenty.

He loaded all the disks into his disk case and patted them happily. Most would sit in there for a long time before he was able to use them effectively. Likely until his Pokémon were fully evolved for the top tier elemental attacks but he was still going have some excellent moves to bolster his team at the moment.

Once the total price popped up on the screen instead of horror Ash smirked at the total, just over one million dollars. All those top level moves were adding up. Hyper Beam and Giga Impact added to almost three hundred thousand by themselves.

Unfortunately, Silph had over seven trillion dollars on an off market day. So this was literally a drop in the bucket for them. He doubted it would be noticed by anyone up the chain, much less the president, but he knew what he did so it was enough.

Ash also bought the lifetime warranty for all of his TM's because it was expensive and it was the only way to give the finger to Silph at this point. Was it petty? Probably, but it was also pretty awesome for his career as a trainer.

As Ash was walking out of the store he passed a women with a group of kids likely here to buy their first Pokémon trainer gear supplies and he walked over.

"Excuse me!" The women turned to him with a raised eye brow. "I want you to have this, it will allow you to buy anything you want and the president of Silph will cover it. No limits at all!" Ash handed her the card and walked off as she sputtered and all the kids cheered.

Maybe they'd spend a lot of money.

* * *

Ash got out of the city toward the western forrest at the edge of Celadon territory to get in some training with his team.

Before he released them he decided to load up some TM's.

First was Metang, Zen Headbutt and Rock Slide. Zen Headbutt was a simple move in concept since it was just a literal headbutt overloaded with psychic energy to enhance the power.

Rock Slide was tougher, by creating a ring of energy they ripped large boulders from the ground that the user would drop on the opponent. With mastery the user could materialize rocks rather than have to rip them from the ground. But that would take a long time.

Ash released Metang, "Hey buddy, you got two new moves. Zen Headbutt and Rock Slide, the first should be simple enough but I want Rock Slide ready by the end of the day."

Metang hummed releasing a wave of determination then levitating off toward a secluded part of the clearing. Before Ash could move to his next Pokémon he could feel Metang ripping rocks from the earth.

Now it was Pidgeotto, she was getting Aerial Ace. A simple move that he could have probably taught her but with the funds at his disposable why not buy the TM.

Pidgeotto materialized with a loud screech as she landed on his shoulder then lean down to nuzzle Ash's cheek. Ash laughed and rubbed her chest feathers, "You got a new move - Aerial Ace, I want you to practice on tree branches until you can slice through them easily."

With a loud scream and a powerful flap she was in the air. Ash watched gleefully at the speed in which she flew away, she was close to evolving for sure.

Next was Umbreon, she was getting Confuse Ray. Unfortunately she wouldn't have mastery of the powerful ghost type move from the TM alone. Confuse Ray was a difficult move to learn much less master but it was one of the most dangerous moves in the world. A mastered Confuse Ray would cause the victim to be completely unable to battle - vertigo, blurry visions, robbed motor functions were common effects.

But that was a master and Ash had no idea other than constant practice to help her master it but he didn't want her using it on the team since the ghost type move was too dangerous. She'd have to practice building the energy by herself then use it in battles.

Ash released Umbreon and gave her a pat on the head, "You got a new move Confuse Ray, don't use it on the team just practice with the energy until a battle." She nodded and laid down next to him.

Rolling his eyes he got his next Pokémon's ball, Charmeleon. Fire Punch was a good addition for the fire type and was relatively simple. Upon release Charmeleon gave his mid section a hug, "Good to see you too Charmeleon, you got a new move - Fire Punch. Give it some practice and I want it ready for tomorrows gym battle."

A solute was his answer, Chameleon ran off to practice his new attack.

Snor was next, he was getting a few since he was so strong already and could handle more moves. Giga Impact, Thunder Punch, Shadow Ball and Earthquake. After loading all the TM's into his largest Pokémon Ash released him.

Two large squinting eyes looked down at Ash, "Alright Snor you got several new attacks. Giga Impact, Thunder Punch, Shadow Ball and Earthquake. I want all of them practiced today and useable before we leave for the Pokémon Center. Trouble with Shadow Ball ask Umbreon and trouble with Earthquake Metang can help you."

Snor nodded then stomped off to get to work. Ash hoped that he went far enough away from the rest considering two of his attacks would disrupt the others pretty bad.

Last but certainly not least was Hydro he would get Ice Punch, while not a conventional move for a Wartortle it would give a good solid close range attack.

Upon release Hydro spat some water into the air and grinned up at Ash a gesture that Ash returned. "Well buddy, I got a TM for Ice Punch. It won't be too hard since you have mastered Ice beam but it won't be easy for you to learn so start practicing."

Hydro nodded and went to get to work. Ash smiled at his team proudly, they were all hard workers and since this was TMs they shouldn't take too long to get the general gist of the moves, mastery would come with time and experience. A day of practice then another to get ready and Erika would be going down.

* * *

Ash finished eating his breakfast in the Pokémon center when his Pokégear beeped letting him know he received a message.

Taking out his Pokégear Ash smiled when he saw it was a message from Steven.

 _Hey Ash! Sorry for not getting to see you in the hospital after the whole S.S Anne fiasco but I had a lot of things to take care of for the League and my father's business._

 _I'll be honest with you, the League and Silph are not happy with each other at the moment. Lance is on a war path with Team Rocket and the President of Silph and the President of the League are both furious with each other to the point that business relations would be better if they were literally at war. Lance and Charles warned the Silph president against making such a show of their ship since it would attract the wrong type of attention and we can see how much they listened._

 _Not to mention that this whole thing with the "monster" isn't making the people in the know feel good. A Legendary that attacks people is a terrifying enough thought, but no Legendary has been credibly spotted for close to twenty years. Now one is around that is not only attacking people but was created by a terrorist organization._

 _We're lucky that it's not worse. I'm telling you this because I trust you. Like I said in the cave, not many people would dive head first in a life or death situation just because its the right thing to do. That's a rare quality and I can recognize the value in that._

 _For now I say you should lay low, you got a lot of eyes on you. Your team, your skills and involvement on the ship were enough to get eyes on you. But you're the only person to have witnessed the power of the monster first hand. Keep every thing you do close to the chest, don't give them anymore reason to look at you for a while._

 _Let the powerful fight each other, don't give them another target._

 _Good Luck and keep kicking ass!_

 _Steven Stone_

 _ps. Your Metang is looking good, that Meteor Mash looked excellent for how long you have been practicing!_

Ash closed his Pokégear with a sigh, politics. He never had any use nor love for them but he couldn't deny that they played a major role in the world.

Steven obviously didn't tell him everything, only enough to try and spook him into laying low. Something he was planning on doing anyway. But now it made him curious as to what Steven and his father were up to after the ship.

It was no secret that Silph and Devon had a _tense_ relationship. It wouldn't surprise Ash at this point to learn that the Devon Corp had something in store for the survivors of the ship to gain a lot of favor with the public or something along those lines.

But like Steven said - he was going to lay low and let them duke it out if he could help it. Because for now he had a date with a gym leader who was going down. With those thoughts, Ash shook his head and made his way toward Erika and his fourth gym badge.

The walk through Celadon was nice, a familiar scenery that he had grown up with. Busy streets filled with people going to and from places. The rumble of the subway underneath the streets and the cry of flying types soaring overhead.

The potent smell of perfume broke him from his thoughts as he came to a large pink building overflowing with greenery.

Several women were out in front talking and Ash could spot several Pokémon hiding around in the bushes. At first it looked to be some sort of greenhouse but Ash spotted a small Pokémon League emblem next to the main entrance signaling that this was the gym.

Ash walked in and instead of the standard waiting room that the other gyms he'd been to had this one was a full on perfume shop. Several women were behind the desks happily talking with customers some of which weren't even trainers.

Not knowing what to do Ash walked up to the only women not with a customer.

"You here for perfume?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not many boys come through here for perfume but I'm not going to judge you. We have a sale on mango scents and a bundle of our jungle collections. If you also want makeup we can look into it but-"

Ash rolled his eyes and shook his head, "I want a gym battle with Erika please."

With a shrug the women gestured for Ash to follow. She led him down the main hallway toward the area where the green room must be. The fresh forest smell became stronger the closer they got.

A Pokémon League official was lounging in a chair as she typed into her Pokégear not paying attention to anything around her. She looked up and nodded to the gym worker letting them both pass to what Ash assumed to be the arena.

Inside was a large grass field surrounded by large plants and trees. The top was made of glass allowing natural sunlight into the arena. Ash could smell several scents that were reminiscent of the perfumes in the shop, this was likely where they made them.

A women in a white kimono walked out from the bushes, she had a regal look to her and held her self with a dignified posture that must have been taught to her since birth. She calmly eyed Ash and gestured for him to stand at one end of the arena.

"Thank you for bringing in the challenger Stacy, you may go." Erika said pleasantly getting a smile and slight bow of respect from the women.

Ash stepped onto his trainer square, "My name is Ash and I would like to challenge you."

A nod from Erika was her response, "Very well, this will be five on five." Erika tossed out a Pokéball which materialized her first Pokémon.

It was a small Pokémon with blue vines completely covering it. Each of the countless vines jiggled with every movement and a giggle was released from it every few seconds as it moved around the battlefield excitedly. The Tangela hoped up in down in place waiting happily to start the battle.

Ash nodded to himself, he'd faced a Tangela before in the Cerulean tournament. It was strong and wouldn't budge from its position after ingraining with its multitude of vines. A dangerous adversary but Ash knew how to handle it.

Charmeleon roared upon release spouting a large tongue of flames that heated the room several degrees. Ash smirked at the display of power, his Charmeleon was progressing well and wasn't far from evolving if his estimate was right. While still behind Hydro in most places, Charmeleon had Blast as a mentor and was quite the natural in battle.

Erika didn't bat an eye at the Charmeleon as she turned to Tangela, "Sleep powder then Ancient Power." The Tangela giggled again and with a hop its vine covered body released a cloud of grey powder that spread over the entire field.

"Twister!" Ordered Ash, it was a new move but Charmeleon managed to learn it pretty easily thanks to Pidgeotto and Blast's instructions.

The grey powder was quickly sucked into the vortex of draconic energy. Charmeleon reared back slightly as it built up energy before spouting a large torrent of flames that burnt away the twister itself. The twister colliding with the fire created an explosion of wind that spread thought the gym.

Charmeleon jumped into action speeding toward Tangela closing distance quickly. Both sets of claws taking on a silver glow as Metal Claw readied itself. As Charmeleon was charging Tangela it stabbed two vines into the ground causing the field to shake and crack apart.

Two large slabs of earth were raised from the ground beneath them and were tossed at Charmeleon with commendable speeds. Charmeleon knew what to do and continued toward the large stone slabs with both Metal Claws gleaming.

Ash smirked at his fire types thinking, it knew that stone would fall to his steel enhanced claws and was prepared to deal with them. The large rocks were slashed through as soon as they were in range sending several large rocks crashing to the ground.

Undeterred by the attack Charmeleon let out a primal roar and his tail flame increased in its intensity along with his battle instincts. The silver claws slashed through Tangela's vine covered body with ease dealing enough damage for the small grass type to screech out in agony.

As soon as Charmeleon finished his Metal Claw attack he tried to heat up a fire attack to finish the Tangela off. The flames crackled to life but died out in the next instant, yellow static danced across Charmeleon's body as it tried to regain its mobility.

"Giga Drain! Finish with Ancient Power." Erika ordered nicely more akin to a gentle plea than the order of a Pokémon trainer.

Ash recognized what happened but was unsure of the how, not that it mattered. Somehow Tangela used Stun Spore on Charmeleon hindering his movements with paralysis.

"Jump and use Flamethrower toward the ground!" Yelled Ash hoping that his plan worked. Spore and powder based attacks were different for each Pokémon that used them. A poison type injected them into their targets but regular grass types spread them over the area so the target was constantly under the effects. Ash would have Charmeleon roast the entire field to rid the entire field of any hints of the spores.

Tangela tried to ensnare Charmeleon in its multitude of vines but the fire type managed to slash them away with his claws. Jumping into the air Charmeleon's jaw ignited with flames while his tail exploded into a white hot blaze.

As soon as the Flamethrower exploded out from Charmeleon the entire field became a bonfire. Tangela's cries from within the flames were hard for Erika to hear causing her to extend her Pokéball to recall the grass type.

Ash called out for Charmeleon to stop his attack causing the fire type to cut the steady stream of flames and he landed in the charred remains of the once grass filled battlefield.

Erika's perfect demeanor cracked at the state of her field, "You certainly don't pull punches," She curled her lip slightly as she looked around the field. "Nor do you have much precision with your attacks. Very well."

Her next Pokémon was a large tree shaped Pokémon with several faces at the top all displaying different emotions. Energy surrounded the Exeggutor as the angry face was the center most one glaring at Ash and Charmeleon.

"Multi Ember then Dragon Rage." Murmured Ash hoping that Erika couldn't hear his orders. Charmeleon immediately inhaled to feed oxogen into the flames in his mouth before he shot dozens of baseball sized fireballs toward the Exeggutor.

The large tree shaped Pokémon stared at the incoming fire attack with disinterest. With seemingly no effort several small barriers popped up in front of it blocking all of the embers easily. After the last of the Embers hit the shields they fizzled out of existence and in the next moment several egg shaped bombs flew through the air toward Charmeleon.

Charmeleon roared in shock when the egg that landed next to him violently exploded almost knocking him off of his feet. The fire type looked up to see several more coming and spat out a thick stream of flames causing all the eggs to explode mid-air.

The Exeggutor was unmoved by its attack being destroyed and raised its right leg before slamming it down onto the ground creating a powerful earthquake that brought Charmeleon to his knees.

While the earth was still shaking Exeggutor's eyes glowed with pink psychic power that cracked around the green leaves above its heads. An instant later three small arching bolts of psychic energy tore through the air toward Charmeleon who was unable to respond under the effects of Earthquake.

The three Psyshock attacks crashed into Charmeleon's scales doing considerable damage physically and mentally further hurting the fire type. Exeggutor's many heads glowed green and spat several sharp seeds at blinding speeds that finished Charmeleon off.

Ash recalled his fire type, "You did great we have an idea about this Exeggutor now." Putting the ball away Ash reached for his next one. The psychic aspect of Exeggutor really threw him off, he didn't expect much more than grass and poison types from her but the heightened focus and mental power that Exeggutor had made it a dangerous opponent for most of his team other than Charmeleon who was finished off by it already.

Ash nodded to himself as he came to a decision, Umbreon would be immune to his psychic abilities and was sturdy enough to handle everything else.

Umbreon growled upon being released, she activated leer right away as Exeggutor and Erika tried to come up with an attack.

"Shadow Ball until its down." Ordered Ash and Umbreon sped into action. The moonlight Pokémon sped around the charred field as ghost type energy condensed into a purple ball of the exotic energy.

Exeggutor jumped up and down making a strange humming noise as dozens of eggs exploded off of the tree like Pokémon. Instead of the large bombs from earlier these were smaller and blanketed the field in mini explosions.

Umbreon took several hits before firing another Shadow Ball disrupting the grass and psychic types ability to manipulate its psychic energy. In the instant that the exploding eggs stopped coming Umbreon charged another Shadow Ball and blasted it across the field at Exeggutor knocking it off of its feet.

Ash smirked, Umbreon was always reliable and she only got better after taking down an opponent.

Erika didn't have anything to say as she threw another Pokéball to release her next Pokémon. A snarling Ivysaur took to the field stomping with its front legs while eyeing Umbreon.

"Confuse Ray." Ash was curious to see how her new move worked and whether or not she could manage to land the attack in battle. He knew that Ivysaur wold go down quickly if the Confuse Ray landed, even unmastered the effects of the unique attack was critical to all Pokémon.

Erika quickly ordered her Pokémon to fire off a wave of leech seeds that missed the fast moving dark type. Umbreon, after dodging the grass type attack got close enough to spit a small orb of glowing ghost energy.

The strange energy landed on the Ivysaur getting a grunt out of it and a stumble. The grass type wobbled as it tried to stay standing while its bulb started releasing spores straight above it causing it to land right on top of the Ivysaur.

Umbreon growled dangerously as it stalked closer. Dark energy swirled around her fangs the instant before she pounced on top of the grass type while biting Ivysaur's head while her body secreted its poisonous sweat.

Ash knew that the bite would do considerable damage but the poisonous sweat wouldn't affect Ivysaur since its natural poison was far deadlier since it was a poison type. Ivysaur grunted in pain as it fell flat on its stomach from the pain and the disorientation from the Confuse ray.

"Finish it with Iron Tail." Umbreon didn't hesitate or pause. She instantly let go of the bite attack then flipped forward with her tail alight with silver metallic energy. The attack slammed right onto the top of Ivysaur's head knocking it out.

"Excellent work Umbreon!" Called Ash getting a purr of delight from Umbreon.

Erika sighed tiredly and failed to hold off a yawn. "You have some skill." She let out as she reached into her kimono for her next Pokéball.

A large Weepinbell landed on the field with several vines swaying around it. Before Ash or Umbreon could do anything several vines swept toward Umbreon from Weepinbell trying to corner it.

"Dark Pulse then Dig." Umbreon jumped over the first vine as the pitch black energy condensed in front of Umbreon's mouth. The swirling energy compacted tightly before it exploded forward in a tight beam.

Weepinbell shot more vines out that anchored to its left, before the beam of dark energy could land Weepinbell pulled itself out of the way. The vines are retracted and waved around the Weepinbell as it waited for Umbreon to attack.

Umbreon didn't go for another beam attack and rapidly dug into the ground disappearing from sight in a flash. Before any vines could stab into the ground Umbreon bursted up from the ground causing shrapnel from the ground to crash into the grass type.

As the attack hit Weepinbell several pods flew from its mouth and landed on the vines coating them in spores. Umbreon was grabbed by several vines while two more, the ones coated in spores, were shoved into her face inflicting her with stun spore and toxic.

Ash called for bite but Umbreon was taken out before she could register the attack. The Weepinbell resumed its stance, standing completely still while five vines waved around its body to counter any attack.

"Aerial Ace!" Ash called out as he tossed Pidgeotto's ball out into the air. A scream was her reply as she tore through the air creating small gusts of wind every time she flapped her wings.

Weepinbell shot all of its vines into the air but they were expertly dodged by the flying type. Pidgeotto screeched as both her wings slashed down at the Weepinbell slicing through the two vines on its left side and continuing on to cut into its body.

Weepinbell let out a squeal of pain as Pidgeotto rose back into the air. The grass type spat several spore pods onto its vines then proceeded to throw them into the air then they exploded creating a cloud of debilitating spores. Pidgeotto didn't need an order for her next move as she used Gust to blow all the toxins away from her before she was close enough. The high velocity winds continued on towards Weepinbell knocking it back but the grass type quickly caught itself with its vines.

"Brave Bird." Pidgeotto screamed her affirmative and Ash watched as his golden bird exploded in the orange flying energy as her speed increased dramatically. Weepinbell started sucking in light to prepare Solar Beam. Ash smirked, Solar Beam took several seconds to charge without Sunny Day and Pidgeotto wouldn't take more than a second to finish this.

Erika yelled orders all of which Weepinbell tried to follow but it was slammed into by Pidgeotto's Brave Bird instantly taking it out. All five vines that tried to stop Pidgeotto in her tracks were tore through and a nasty gash was shone on Weepinbell's chest where the powerful flying type attack landed.

"Keep it up Pidgeotto!" Called Ash happily making her do a loop in the air happily.

Instead of reaching for another ball Erika turned around an called out onto the bushes. "I need your assistance with this challenger!"

Ash waited curiously as the greenery started to rustle as Erika's Pokémon approached the field from its resting place. From behind the bushes a Vileplume revealed itself while taking graceful steps out onto the battlefield.

"Roost then finish with Brave Bird." Ash said with an uninterested tone, as strong as this Vileplume likely was it wasn't going to be able to touch Pidgeotto she was too fast and brave bird would take it out in one hit.

Pidgeotto rose all the way to the top of the gym while her feathers shown bright with energy as she regenerated the stamina she lost from using Brave Bird the first time. Vileplume on the ground was steadily releasing stun spores into the air making a thick cloud of the yellow powder.

Before Vileplume and Erika could think of a next move Pidgeotto burst through the cloud of stun spore like a falling star and crashed into the Vileplume with such speed that the grass and poison type didn't even notice it coming.

"Amazing Pidgeotto!" Cheered Ash with a fist pump. Pidgeotto screamed out as she circled above Ash before landing next to him on the ground. Ash reached out to rub her plume of feathers getting a happy chirp from her making him smile.

Erika made her way over to Ash with small calm steps like she didn't get ran through by two Pokémon. Ash had to fight down a smirk at that, all the training he put his team through made them more than ready for her gym. He was a little disappointed though, her team was weak except for Exeggutor but it couldn't use its psychic abilities on Umbreon so he didn't get to see its full potential.

He wasn't about to complain about an easy gym battle though.

"You have raised your Pokémon well, specifically Pidgeotto, it is a wonderful specimen." She said appraisingly as she looked over the golden bird. "I present you with the Rainbow Badge as well as this TM for Giga Drain."

Ash pocketed the TM, "Thanks I wouldn't mind coming back for another battle before the league if that is okay."

"Of course my stronger Pokémon don't get much of a workout anymore, I'm rarely anyones sixth or later choice." Ash could understand that, she was a good place to begin since she wasn't hyper aggressive like Surge so most would want to get her out of the way quickly for an easy win to build confidence.

Ash nodded and made his way out of the gym. The league official near the entrance didn't look up from her handheld and the perfume shop was still incredibly busy.

Back on the streets of Celadon Ash wondered what he should do next. He could make his way to Fuchsia and try and see if he could get into the Safari Zone since he'd heard some interesting rumors the other day.

Much like Ash thought Devon Corp did something for the survivors of the S.S. Anne. If a survivor of the ships incident went to Fuchsia and presented their ticket they would be allowed free entry to the Safari zone paid for by the Devon Corp.

It would seem Steven and his father were trying to gain favor with the people of Kanto now that they were building a presence in the region. And if Ash were to be honest he preferred Steven to the ass of a president that Silph had.

Ash stopped walking on the streets of Celadon when he heard the sound of slot machines. He had totally forgotten about the game corner, he used to spend most of his free time here trying to build up his coin collection so he could buy a Dratini. They were an absurd ten thousand coins and when a jackpot was two thousand you'd need five to get the rare dragon. In the years he'd been going he's only hit the jackpot twice and over three years that was crazy.

The rich could just buy a Dratini, but he and his mom weren't rich and especially not enough to buy a pseudo-legendary. But that was already taken care of since he already had Blast.

That didn't mean he couldn't use his nearly forty three hundred coins on something else. He also loved the slots, maybe his mom was right he shouldn't play the slots anymore.

The inside of the Game Corner was the same as always young trainers putting coins into slots hoping for jackpots and old people hanging around just to kill time. He had his coin purse so he went straight to the prize kiosk.

The man grinned down at him, "Ash! I was wondering when you'd come back!" He laughed.

Ash smiled back, "Good to see you Jimmy. What prizes do you have today?"

Jimmy looked at him curiously, "Gave up on the Dratini? Not like you."

"I got one already, he evolved into a Dragonair a month ago." Ash told him gleefully, just talking about it made him ecstatic that he wouldn't have to spend more time in here hoping for jackpots.

"No kidding." Jimmy said impressed, "Well we have some TM's with rare moves, a Gible for ten thousand, Polygon for ten thousand, Abra for two thousand and a choice of a mystery egg for two thousand. The eggs are all the same price but a limit of one per customer since we only have three left in stock. They've been going quick since some kid got an egg that hatched into a Larvitar a while back. I asked around and we only know what one of the eggs are for sure."

Ash nodded, the rare TM's were interesting and so was the Abra not to mention he finally had his answer for how Paul got a Pupitar. While he had Metang who evolved into one of the best psychic type Pokémon around he couldn't help but think that Abra would be a great addition to the team. Oak's could teleport across countries and Sabrina's was stronger than the average Metagross which had four brains and was a pseudo legendary.

But the eggs interested him, they could be amazing or terrible. While no Pokémon was bad if trained right he didn't want to work out the right training method for a Butterfree.

"Can you tell me the one you've figured out? Since we're friends." Pleaded Ash, if it was good he would take it. Or he'd know not to take it.

Jimmy looked at him before leaning forward, "The guy I spoke to, some old weirdo named Bill or Bob - doesn't matter. He said it was a Horsea."

Well it evolved into a Kingdra which was a very powerful water and dragon type Pokémon. But Hydro was the only water type he'd ever need. So he was going to pass on the Horsea, they were on par with Gyarados something that was an incredible merit for any Pokémon, but unnecessary for his team.

Jimmy pointed to the all blue egg with purple dots, "That one is the Horsea, it is also the one with the shortest hatch time. Likely only a few weeks, the other two will take a month at the least."

Both eggs were vastly different in aesthetic, one was grey and the other was pink. He wasn't sure what either meant but he was going to go with grey. A solid color like that could mean ground or rock, something he desperately wanted on his team.

"I'll take the grey one, also what TM's do you have?" Asked Ash as he accepted the Egg that was sitting inside of the incubator.

Jimmy typed into the computer. "Ice Beam for two thousand, Hyper Beam for four thousand, Overheat for four thousand, Flamethrower for two thousand and the elemental fists for one thousand each. We have the permanent variants but they're really high especially Hyper Beam which is sitting at eight thousand."

Ash shook his head, "No thanks I'll just take the egg."

First thing Ash was going to do was call the professor, he needed to have his limit increased to keep the egg and some insight on Egg care.

* * *

"Fascinating!" The professor said interested as he eyed the egg, "I haven't come across that particular design before. Solid grey is strange maybe as it progresses more patterns will show." He thought out loud to himself.

"I could send you pictures of the egg if anything changes." Put in Ash.

Oak brightened at the idea, "That would be marvelous, I hatched my own egg during my travels so I know how great it will be for you. My Dragonite was an egg that I saved from some poachers after I got my first badge." The professor looked away for a moment likely having a memory of the event.

"I can't wait until I know what it is." Smiled Ash, he was excited for a new team member. No matter what it was he was going to love it.

"Is there anything else you needed to ask me?" Questioned Oak.

Ash tilted his head in thought, "How are Blast and Snor? I plan on switching them back in after I get out of Celadon."

Oak closed his eyes in thought, "That Snorlax of yours is a strange one, he insists on running laps and I had to have him practice his moves further away. The neighbors were complaining about his Earthquakes."

Ash grinned happily, "Good I'll have to increase his regiment soon, I want the fastest Snorlax in the world!" Cheered Ash with a fist in the air gaining the attention of some of the people around.

"I see," Muttered Oak, "Well he's progressing well I've never heard of a Snorlax participating in physical exercise so you're on the right path I guess." Shrugged Oak, "Now Blast is getting the hang of manipulating air currents and his draconic energy to fly. Soon it will be second nature, his instincts will kick in soon and he'll be flying through the air like a bird."

Ash nodded, "That's the plan, I'm going to switch him and Snor with Pidgeotto and Charmeleon, both of them did great against Erika so I'm giving them a rest. Could you get them in their balls for me Professor."

"Of course my boy, give me a minute and Arcanine will gather them so I can recall them to their balls. Your Pokégear should be able to transfer them in a few minutes. If I can, may I and my team work with Metang some time in the future it is truly rare to look into their unique physiology." The professor looked really excited at the prospect and Ash wouldn't tell him no.

"Sure," Nodded Ash, "I'm having him master Meteor Mash and work on some new moves I got from the department store. Give me another day or two and I'll transfer Metang over to you."

Professor Oak let a smile spread across his face, "Thank you for the opportunity Ash, I have only gotten the chance to study Metang and Metagross once and that was when I was a trainer not as a researcher. Not to mention my interns will love the chance I will be sure to repay you." He promised.

"It's no problem, if that's all professor." Professor Oak waved and closed the call.

Ash smiled down at his egg, he was curious about what was in it but he was going to hold off on looking up what it was. He'd rather be surprised and not have any prior thoughts.

For now he wanted to get on the road, he would transfer Charmeleon and Pidgeotto for Snor and Blast. He wanted to start making his way to Fuchsia both for Koga and the Safari Zone which was just too good an opportunity to pass up at the moment.

The chance to look around the Safari Zone would give him a chance for some incredibly rare Pokémon. In the near decade of renovations the Pokémon League worked with all of its branches to get a real variety of Pokémon in the Safari Zones. Not just in Kanto either, far away regions like Sinnoh and Kalos now had a supply of rare Kanto Pokémon and vice versa. It would give trainers of different regions the chance to catch Pokémon not native to their region.

Ash wasn't sure what was there, no one was anymore since it wasn't open yet and the league has been tight lipped. But he had a few types he wanted coverage for, his team had plenty of power. Both Metang and Blast would evolve into real monsters even without the special training he planned. Not many had ways to deal with a Dragonite or Metagross, both were the apex threats of their native lands in ancient times.

He would like another dark type, they were rarely used for their hard to control natures so few would know how to handle them. Umbreon was his girl of course but she was highly defensive by nature. No matter how much he trained her to deal damage, when his team was at league level she just wouldn't do much damage compared to the rest of his team. She would be used to Toxic opponents and Confuse Ray for her primary means of offense. A dark type that was more offensive would be great, they took care of the troublesome psychics and since his region was the native home to Alakazam he needed to be ready for them. They weren't the most used psychic type Pokémon in the world because they were weak after all.

He really wished he got Gengar - strong to psychics, immune to normal types and a poison type. Just one those three things and he would have a strong teammate. Only problem was that they were notoriously hard to catch, not necessarily for their rarity. It was well known that they frequent the tower in lavender. But because they could turn invisible and even intangible, then just float away unconcerned with a Pokéball that would pass right through them. Ash didn't want to deal with that kind of headache.

He had plenty of speed and bulk on his team, Blast and Pidgeotto would become incredibly fast after they evolved. Hydro and Snor would be able to take hits that they were weak to without trouble once they evolved. Pikachu was his fastest Pokémon already and he would only get better with more training. Metang was going to be all around, both hyper offense and defense. Charizard was powerful offensively and he was going to train him hard core to increase his defenses. Umbreon would progress as she was, she was strong, fast and was able to take some nasty hits even now.

As greedy as it may seem but he wanted a Larvitar, offensive Dark type with rock typing as well. Sand stream was a powerful ability and they were well known for going toe to toe with the strongest of Pokémon. They were the dominant Pokémon of Johto for a reason, even Dragonite know to tread lightly in a Tyranitar's territory. Unfortunately they were incredibly rare, more so than Dratini. Not to mention mother Tyranitar were the most aggressive Pokémon in the world when around their young Larvitar and he did _not_ want to fight through a mother Tyranitar for a chance to catch one.

So unless something crazy happened, he would just take his chances and look around the Safari Zone. His team was already set for the most part so he didn't really need to add Pokémon but he wouldn't turn down some new team members.

* * *

It was his final time in the Celadon Pokémon center, Snor was getting looked at to see if he was eating the necessary amount of nutrients. The League meal plan wasn't always enough for Snorlax and he just wanted to be sure, especially since he was having Snor do lots of physical exercise which was unusual for their species.

Idly looking around the center while he waited he saw a familiar patch of purple hair typing into a Pokénav.

"Hey Paul!" Called Ash as he jogged over to the trainer.

Paul gave a tight nod, "Ketchum." There was a tense silence between the two of them as they waited for the other to say something.

"So, what happened to you on the ship?" Asked Ash lowly.

A scowl came over the boys face, "I was targeted for my Pupitar but I made it to an Alakazam pretty quick. You?"

Ash looked down angrily, "I fought my way down to the deck, Metang and Blast were targeted as well. I was planning on making my way to Fuchsia today." He said changing the subject off of the S.S. Anne.

"Same, but I am going to get a Pokémon from the game corner. I finally have enough coins for another one." Paul put away his Pokénav. "I actually got Pupitar from the game corner a few weeks ago. It was one of their mystery eggs."

Ash showed off his own egg, "I got one myself." The solid grey egg shown bright in the daylight.

Paul narrowed his eyes at the egg, "I've never seen a grey egg, Larvitar was a solid slate color though."

"I know! I'm excited to see what it turns out to be." Grinned Ash.

" _Ash Ketchum your Pokémon are ready!_ "

"How about a battle Paul. I also want to see what you get from the game corner, just give me a second to get Snor." Without waiting for a reply Ash ran to get his Pokéball.

* * *

The game corner was less busy than normal, there were still several people sitting at the slot machines but less trainers screaming at the machines for jackpots.

Ash looked over at Paul who was shifting his overflowing coin case. "How exactly did you make that much? I spent like two years here and only made four thousand."

Paul smirked at Ash, "I'm naturally lucky when it comes to gambling. I got the jackpot here thirteen times in the week I've been here."

Ash's jaw dropped, "Thirteen!? So what are you getting?"

"Porygon, they are synthetically made and there are less than a hundred in the world so people won't know how to battle it. I considered Gible but after that pain of a Dratini I'm not interested in getting a dragon unless I battle it." Ash could tell he was still a little sore over that, he could understand though, if a dragon out right refused to listen to him he'd be pretty angry himself.

"Well, I'm certainly interested in Porygon." Ash said with a nod.

Arriving at prize desk Jimmy looked up from his magazine and grinned at the two of them. "Well if it isn't the lucky kid with the Larvitar and Ash. What can I do for you two?"

All business Paul stepped forward, "I would like to cash in my coins for a Porygon." He extended his coin case that was overflowing with coins.

Jimmy took the case and put it on the scale. "Well, I'm pretty sure that there are more than ten thousand coins you sure you don't want to count them out?"

Both Ash and Paul gave him a dead stare, "I don't have time to count out ten thousand coins. I plan to leave Celadon today anyway." Was Paul's reply.

Jimmy coughed lightly, "That makes sense I suppose, let me get it for you." He turned around and walked through the doors behind him.

Ash curiously looked into he back as the doors swung open and his heart nearly stopped. He saw several people walking around with black jumpsuits with large red R's on their backs. A multitude of Pokémon stuffed into cages and hundreds of Pokéballs that were covered into seaweed and moss.

They were recovered from the S.S. Anne.

"Paul." Snarled Ash getting the boy's attention. "This place is run by team rocket."

The purple haired boy's face melted into a furious frown, "What are you going to do?"

Ash closed his eyes and took a breath, "I'm going to take it down. These monsters aren't going to get away with this. I wouldn't be surprised if all the prizes were stolen from other trainers."

"Your right, lets pay them back for the ship."

Jimmy picked now to walk out from behind the doors carrying a Pokéball. "We just got this one in a few weeks ago. Here you go, one Porygon."

Paul nearly snatched the ball away and walked off. Ash followed without a word.

In the corner of the slot machine area they huddled together close.

"We need to get back there, most team rocket members are weak but if they have an executive we're in trouble." Prefaced Ash. After hearing Lance say that Petrel was a tough opponent he wasn't going to take them lightly.

Paul gave a tight nod, "I know I saw one of them battling with a Metagross against Lance on the ship. So I'm not in a hurry to face one unless we absolutely have to."

Ash took out his Pokégear and typed into it rapidly, "I sent a message to Steven, he'll let people know what's happening here. For now I say we try this door." Ash pointed to a steel door in the corner behind them.

Getting up they tried to open it but it was bolted shut. Throwing a little caution to the wind Paul took out a Pokéball to release a small steel type Pokémon Ash didn't recognize. It was on all fours and was covered by thick steel plating and had striking blue eyes that looked up at Paul questioningly.

"Lairon cut the lock with Metal Claw and keep quiet." Order Paul.

The Lairon made a series of metal sounds in response before it jumped up with a glowing claw that slashed the lock with impressive speed and precision. The door cracked open allowing Ash and Paul to step in.

They found themselves in a dark hallway with several people walking around not paying attention to their surroundings. At the end was an elevator that looked like it needed a key to turn on.

"Hey!" Shouted one of the rocket grunts that noticed them.

Lairon quickly rushed the grunt and before he could release a Pokémon he was taken down. Ash reached into his pocket to release Umbreon, she would thrive in the dark hallway and was small enough to move around freely. Ash also released Pikachu and let him settle on his shoulder, Thunderwave would be very useful in this place.

Paul gestured to a door near the end of the hallway that had several people in business suits all emblazoned with the red R on the breastplate. Nodding to each other they burst into the room catching them by surprise.

Lairon and Umbreon were quickly to rush the trainers while Pikachu hit everything he could with Thunderwave. Not even ten seconds later everyone in the room besides Ash and Paul were taken down.

"We make a good team." Commented Ash getting a glare from Paul as he raised a finger to his lips to quiet Ash.

Ash started to look through everyone's pockets for a lift key while Paul released his Porygon. Paul was whispering to it so Ash couldn't hear what they were talking about but he bolted up in triumph when he found the key.

"I got it!" Whispered Ash getting a nod from Paul who was peering out of the room into the hallway.

Paul waved Ash over, "The coast looks clear we should get to the elevator."

The two of them slowly made their way to the elevator with Lairon leading and Umbreon slowly stalking in the shadows nearly invisible. Ash put the key in and the doors opened, on the panel there were several floors with labels. Ash hit the one that said Lab that was the second to the bottom.

The second the doors closed Ash let out a breath and pulled his Pokégear out. "Steven replied, he said he let Lance and the Celadon authorities know what I told him. He also said that were shouldn't go in, ah too late on that one."

"We'll have taken this place down by the time they get here, I want answers about the ship and I doubt anyone will tell us what happened except for team rocket." Paul said angrily.

Ash winced slightly at that, he knew what happened to the ship but Lance had made him and everyone in his room swear to secrecy. If they got out of this and Paul didn't have answers then he would tell him, he trusted that Paul could keep a secret.

The doors dinged as they opened and they were greeted to the sights of a bright white room a clear contrast to the hallway at ground level. Ash peeked out of the elevator to see several grunts and scientists talking in front of a large computer screen.

Pointing to them Ash and Paul nodded to each other. Ash whispered orders to Pikachu who saluted before speeding off under the tables. Umbreon and Lairon went in different directions to flank.

As soon as Thunderwave went off in the epicenter of all the people, which was the signal. Both Umbreon and Lairon started taking down grunts left and right with Take Downs and Iron Tails.

Seeing as how all the grunts were taken care of Ash started to look around the lab. A multitude of documents and research papers. Prototype Pokéball's strewn about clearly failures and evolutionary stones with notes written next to them.

Paul walked over to the computer and re released Porygon. "You know what to do."

Ash walked over, "What are you doing?"

"Porygon is basically a computer program, they are used by the league to protect their servers from hackers. Not even dozens of expert hackers could hope to get past even a half paying attention Porygon so I'm guessing that not even the best firewalls could stop one. I want to know what they know." Explained Paul.

First on the screen were pictures of Mew, seeing as how they were high quality they were pretty recent. Both Ash and Paul stared at it for a moment before snapping out of the shock of seeing a clear picture of Mew.

Next were documents on type altering and others on specific breeding techniques.

A file called project beast popped up, followed by project phoenix. Ash wasn't great at gambling but he was sure those had to do with Johto legendaries. The next file was larger and it was filled with notes on Silph, Devon and Lysander Labs. After that a document that popped open was titled Mewtwo. Paul ordered Porygon to open it but before they could alarms sounded off in the labs and likely on every floor above.

"We need to go!" Ash shouted as he ran toward the elevator with Paul and their Pokémon behind them.

Instead of going up Ash pressed the bottom floor button hoping to avoid anymore rockets.

When the doors to the bottom floor opened Ash yelped and dove out of the way with Paul doing the same on the other side.

In front of the elevator were over a dozen rocket grunts staring at them in shock. Pikachu was the first to respond with a powerful Thunderbolt aimed directly at them, a Flash Cannon and Dark Pulse quickly followed.

"Useless! The lot of you!" An angry women shouted from further in the room to the unconscious rocket members. "I have half a mind to have you all killed!"

Ash and Paul exited the elevator so that they weren't trapped in a tight space. Looking around Ash found that the bottom floor wasn't that different from the Silph Presidents office in the department store. Luxurious furniture and a large desk with a computer monitor.

Biggest difference however was the women who propped her legs up on the desk as she lazily tossed a Pokéball up and down in her hand. She was a strikingly beautiful women even with her terrible Team Rocket uniform.

Ash, however, recognized her. "You're Arianna! We met on the S.S. Anne!" Shouted Ash while he pointed at her.

Paul's head shot up when he heard her name. "She's also the VP of Public relations for Silph Co. She gave us our prizes." Snarled the Sinnoh native at the smirking red head who was still sitting in the executive chair.

Several massive earthquakes shook the room as the floors above them were under attack. Ash knew that the league trainers would reach this room in a few minutes so they just had to stall until then.

Ash released Hydro, Blast and Metang who looked around curiously. "She's dangerous, don't let her move from that spot." A wave of understanding washed over him from Metang who used psychic energy to keep the women in place.

Paul released Electabuzz, Grotle and Magmar and ordered them to stand at attention.

Instead of panic, Arianna had amusement on her face. "I'd be worried if I hand't prepared before you two walked out of the elevator."

Before Ash or Paul could react a purple blur crossed the room and slashed Metang with pitch black slash of dark energy that disrupted Metang's focus which released Arianna from her psychic prison.

Another Pokémon was released from the ball that she was holding. A large fowl smelling Muk emerged from the ball that gurgled as its poison mass corroded the floor under it.

"Ash, I'll take Gengar." Paul said as he released Pupitar and ordered his Pokémon to attack the ghost and poison type.

Ash released Snor and ordered his Pokémon toward the Muk. "Metang you're immune to poison so stay up front. Snor use Shadow Ball, Umbreon hit it with Swift, Pikachu keep it stunned with Thunderwave. Hydro use Ice Beam, Blast use Dragon Rage."

Muk raised one of its swirling poison filled arm and slashed it down sending several tendrils of poison toward all of the Pokémon who quickly moved out of the way. The impact of the poison attack caused the ground to sizzle and corrode.

Metang hummed with energy then assaulted Muk with a powerful Psyshock that fried the point of impact spreading the fowl smell into the room. Snor roared as a huge pitch black ball of swirling ghost type energy blasted into Muk's body with a loud crack.

Muk didn't even acknowledge the attacks as it let out a loud gurgle before spitting out a cloud of poison gas. Metang was quick to respond by using Psychic to create a wall to stop the spread of toxins.

Blast slithered up closer to Metang and let out a low horn like sound that caused Metang to let down the barrier. The instant the barrier lowered a powerful twister took its place keeping the poison gas from spreading.

Hydro and Pikachu combined their efforts with a thunderbolt enhanced Water Pulse. Muk actually felt the attack as it turned toward the water electric duo.

A series of gurgles came from the poison type before it raised both of its sludge covered arms and slashed them down in a cross pattern. A dark purple x shaped poison attack tore through the air toward all of the Pokémon in front of the Muk.

Metang and Snor jumped to the front of the group, Metang took the brunt of the attack as poison wouldn't affect it but the force of the attack was enough to push the steel type back. Snor caught Metang then charged up a dense ball of orange energy.

Muk could only gurgle as a Hyper Beam blasted out from Snor that shown so bright that Ash had to look away.

"Pikachu use Thunderwave, Hydro wait until the smoke clears then Scald, Metang use Confusion, Umbreon try Confuse Ray." Orders upon orders came out of Ash and his team hurried to carry them out.

The Hyper Beam tore into Muk's poison sludge body burning away any part that the powerful energy touched. Gurgles and groans came from the poison type as it was unable to do anything but endure.

Yellow static shot from Pikachu the instant Hyper Beam stopped. Muk was unable to move with the static electricity coursing through its irregular body. Steaming water slammed into the purple sludge monster followed by a pulsating ball of silver energy.

Ash sighed in relief as the Muk was seemingly taken out of the fight, all of those attacks landing and Confuse Ray on top of it. Muk was trying and failing to gather itself for a counter attack but the mind bending Confuse Ray was keeping it from regaining motor function.

"Metang finish it with Psyshock." Pink psychic energy crackled around Metang's front two arms before a thick bolt zapped into Muk's face knocking it out.

"About time, I thought your entire team would have taken that Muk out quicker." Paul drawled lazily next to him making Ash jump in surprise.

Rolling his eyes, "So I take it Gengar was taken down." Not giving Paul the satisfaction that his team worked slower.

Paul snorted in response, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't. Her Pokémon weren't as strong as I'm guessing the other executives considering we beat them."

Ash nodded, Muk's defenses and abnormal body were the only things that kept it in the fight for that long. Sure its attacks would have hurt his Pokémon but Metang was immune and Snor's thick fat would have soaked it all up.

Ash looked over to where Arianna was to see Pupitar had several stones surrounding its levitating body with a glaring Electabuzz holding her shoulder with its static filled arms. She looked to have trouble staying conscious with the continuous steam of electricity flowing into her.

"A little much no?" Ash asked pointing to Arianna.

Paul glared at the women, "No, she was reaching for more Pokéballs during our fights and I had Pupitar restrain her. I don't want to chance the fact that we likely got lucky with her Pokémon selection. I know she has a Metagross and I don't want to face it, that Metang of yours is strong enough and Metagross are several times stronger just from evolving."

Ash nodded again, "Good thinking so-" An explosion shook the entire room and the roof exploded next to them creating a huge hole. Dust and debris fell but was quickly blown away by Metang's psychic ability.

"I WANT HER ALIVE!" A deep voice boomed from the floor above, Ash recognized it somewhat as Lance.

Not a half second later a familiar green Dragonite descended from the roof and looked at Ash curiously halting all hostility. Ash sighed in relief that the dragon recognized him as an acquaintance and didn't attack, he knew how that would go.

"Emerald what are you doing?" Lance asked as he jumped down from the floor above and landing with practiced ease.

The champion instantly took notice of Ash and Paul, "I thought I told Steven to tell you not to enter the base." Lance said narrowing his eyes at the two boys. His face took on a more thoughtful look, "That would explain why several grunts were already taken out."

Ash rubbed the back of his head, "We were already in the base when we got Steven's message."

Two ACE trainers instantly appeared with an Alakazam between them. They had a Pokéball in one hand and a special stun rod in the other. Both ACE trainers were covered in tactical armor and had a helmet with a tinted face mask.

Lance raised a hand two them, "The room is secure, take the women to HQ I will be along shortly. Notify Erika that we're done here and she can return to the gym." The ACE trainers nodded affirmative then silently took Arianna from Electabuzz and Pupitar's care and teleported away.

Ash glanced at Paul out of the corner of his eye, "Lance, I have more information on the monster."

Paul turned to him with a raised eyebrow and Lance's face hardened into stone, "Very well, come with me. Return all of your Pokémon." Ash and Paul followed suit and walked over to Lance.

The Champion snapped his fingers and an Alakazam instantly appeared, "Take us to HQ."

* * *

Lance rubbed his forehead as he sat behind his desk with Paul and Ash sitting in the chairs in front of the desk. "Thank you for all of your help boys. Paul, your Porygon will be returned to you in a moment, the league Porygon just needed to transfer the information to our servers. I will have the league transfer fifty thousand dollars into both of your accounts, Arianna's bounty was a hundred thousand but since it was a joint effort I think splitting it will work."

Paul took that in stride while Ash tried to keep his jaw from hitting the ground. A little revenge for the boat and he ended up with a hefty payment, not bad.

"Now, Paul." Lance started again. "You have been told very classified information, I expect you to keep it to yourself." The Champion's eyes hardened as he stared at the rookie trainer.

Paul for all his seriousness wilted under the dragon master's stare, "I will." He muttered.

Lance immediately brightened up, "Great!" He cheered before standing up. As he walked around his desk he patted the green mountain that was Emerald who was laying on a large cushion completely passed out. "I have to say the both of you showed great promise, I would be dumb not to offer you both the chance to join the ACE trainer organization."

Ash and Paul glanced at one another but said nothing allowing Lance to continue.

"We normally only recruit those who compete in the conference and make it to the top sixty four. But you both have excellent teams, are quite talented, and made good showings in the Silph tournament." Lance looked down at the two of them expectantly.

"No thank you, I plan to take Cynthia's position." Paul said before standing up. "If you'll excuse me I need to check on my Grotle in the Pokémon Center." The Alakazam in the back of the room teleported Paul away to the Celadon Pokémon Center.

Lance gave a genuine laugh at Paul answer once they were alone. "All business that one, but he's got the intensity I'll give him that."

Ash twiddled his thumbs as he shifted in his seat. Taking a deep breath Ash stood up, "I'm going to challenge you for the Champion seat!" Ash shouted with his eyes closed unsure on how Lance would take it. Ash however felt like an idiot for saying something so lame but he wanted Lance to know that he planned to take him down.

Lance chuckled lightly and gave Ash a slap on the shoulder. "Train hard then. You have a strong team and a lot of heart. But that wont get you passed Lorelei or Will, definitely not Agatha and certainly not Bruno. Train hard and complete the Kanto Circuit, we'll see where you are then."

Lance walked back over to his chair and sat down, "Until then keep out of trouble, I'm putting my personal Pokégear number in yours so if something like this happens you can tell me directly."

Ash handed over his Pokégear, Lance raised an eyebrow at the prototype but didn't comment. "Here you go Ash, good luck on you journey."

Ash stood with a grin, "Thanks and good luck with the rockets."

Alakazam raised a spoon and teleported Ash away without a sound.

* * *

 _Author's Notes._

 _I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, to those who celebrate it at least. If you don't I hope you had a good Thursday last week. Sorry for the delay I had this chapter done for a while but I haven't been able to read through it with school and family and life and all that._

 _But here you all go. I will try to get the next chapter out soon but I have finals, a wedding and a whole lot of other shit in the coming weeks so progress will continue to be a bit slow._

 _Any thoughts, Comments or Recommendations. Leave them in a review or hit me up with a PM._


	9. Fuchsia City

_World of Pokémon #9_

 _A Gym leaders role has changed over time. Under the master they were his strongest followers to carry out his will throughout the region. Now they were the strongest trainers in the area and would do their best to protect the people who called their territory home._

 _A gym leader under the Master were required to have at least two Pokémon on the same level of the Master. Now they needed to have a team that was considered close to or at Elite level to make sure that they were ready for their position._

 _Was is because two Pok_ _émon on the level of the Master was an incredible feat? Or were the trainers of today far superior to the trainers of the past?_

* * *

Never let it be said that the distance between Celadon City and Fuchsia City was a short one.

Ash rubbed his feet after his twenty second day of nonstop walking. Thankfully, his Pokégear told him that he was within ten miles of the city so tomorrow he should be staying in a Pokémon Center rather than a sleeping bag. Not that he hated camping, it was part of the trainer lifestyle after all, but he needed a mattress a least every other week.

After the first few hours of walking, Umbreon would whine until he put her back into her ball so he's been on his own except for the times he let out Pidgeotto to fly around or the occasional training session with his Pokémon. His team brushed up on some knew moves and combinations but overall no drastic changes. Hydro and Pidgeotto were the closest to evolution but they would need a bit more work for the final push.

He had received updates from Oak on his Pokémon's progress back at the ranch. Both Snorlax and Charmeleon have been training with the residents of the Oak ranch for the better part of the last week.

Ash quickly put together his camp and relaxed in front of his camp fire. Reaching back, Ash released his team letting them take a break from their Pokéballs.

Hydro saluted Ash before running off to explore the immediate area. Pidgeotto screeched a greeting before taking off into the sky with Blast shortly following at a much more relaxed pace.

Pikachu and Umbreon relaxed in front of the fire next to Ash while Metang hovered in place while occasionally letting out a soft hum. Ash felt a wave of contentment flow over him and smiled at the psychic type knowing that it was at ease with the situation.

"Well, tomorrow we'll arrive in Fuchsia," sighed Ash getting a few cries of happiness from his team.

"I don't think we'll challenge Koga right off the bat. But we will within the week, so everyone needs to be ready for that. Metang, you'll be very important in this gym since you are immune to his poison types." Ash said to the levitating Pokémon.

A hum from Metang was his only response.

Hopefully the rumors about Koga were a bit exaggerated. He'd heard from Gary that the poison specialist was a candidate for the Elite Four and if Agatha ever retired that he would be the leagues first choice. No matter the progress he'd made these past few months, Ash was quite sure that he would be wiped by a team that strong. The Salamance on the S.S. Anne was evidence that he had a long way to go.

Ash looked through his Pokégear for any areas around him that he could explore. Unfortunately, nothing other than the bike paths that ran from Celadon to Fuchsia. Ash dropped his head when he though about bicycles. He had more than enough money to buy one and he forgot to before he left Celadon. He could have made it to Fuchsia in a week compared to nearly a month.

An alert to his trainer account brought him out of his thoughts, someone sent him a message.

It was from Gary.

 _Just got the Soul Badge! I waited for you in Fuchsia but you never showed! Where are you Ash? I wanted a battle! I will tell you that I got a nice Pokémon from the Safari Zone and you'll meet him in our next battle. Try to keep up Ash!_

How did Gary beat him to Fuchsia? Thinking back, didn't Gary have a Kadabra, it would mean that he was going to be able to travel much quicker and that he was going to be able get across Kanto much easier giving him a big advantage. More time to train if he didn't have to travel.

The only Pokémon on his team that would be capable of Teleportation would be Metang, but the psychic abilities of the Beldum line weren't strong enough to teleport until they evolved into Metagross and even then it would take the TM. Ash smiled when he thought about his trip to the department store in Celadon, he had the Teleportation TM ready for Metang when it evolved in the coming months.

Ash frowned when he thought about his psychic's evolution. Other than Steven saying that learning and mastering Meteor Mash was a sign that Metang was getting closer to evolving he couldn't see any other signs. Metang hasn't exactly gotten stronger with training, rather getting better at manipulating the psychic energy, using it more effectively where as Blast was bringing out more and more power showing his progress.

Looking over at Hydro, his starter, who was looking ready to evolve any minute, likely one more tough battle would do it. The Wartortle's shell was thickening and his skin was turning more and more blue with his skull hardening as it was readying for the huge thick skull of a Blastoise. Ash knew that once Hydro evolved it would take a few days for him to get used to his new body - larger and heavier and not to mention the two cannons he now had to work with, with which a Water Gun's strength would be enough to crack a tree's bark.

Unfortunately, a Pokémon's final evolution took far more time to get used to and could even be dangerous if a Pokémon underwent the process in a bad circumstance. Hydro would triple in size and Blast would literally grow four limbs and two wings that would all have incredible strength. So he was honestly hoping that his Pokémon evolved outside of battle.

Pikachu was an odd part of his team where evolution was considered. Ash would admit that the small rodent was stronger than his size would have one think. The electric type's lightning was potent and well conducted but Ash was seriously considering having him evolve into Raichu, the boost in power and strength was too much to ignore. But Pikachu was also his fastest Pokémon at the moment and Ash had made his battle style reflect that and a Raichu was just far too slow to use it affectively so Ash would have to change it completely meaning weeks of training. Ash didn't want to mess up what was already working so he'd wait to speak with Surge after he got his eighth badge and did another round of the gym circuit.

But that was where immediate changes to his team stopped. Charmeleon was getting close to evolving likely right before he challenged Sabrina and it would help, he'd need the power to take the Mistress of the Mind and her ridiculous Alakazam. Ash would work with Charmeleon after Koga and he knew that Blast would help so that he'd have an even stronger sparring partner.

"Bre." Purred Umbreon while crawling over to him.

Ash rolled his eyes and began petting her. It was getting late so he started unrolling his sleeping bag.

* * *

Fuchsia City, more a large village than city, but Ash wasn't going to argue semantics with anyone. Ash stood at the top of a large cliff that overlooked Fuchsia, unlike Celadon or Vermillion there weren't any tall towers, most buildings were under four stories and were more conservative in style.

He could make out the gym at the center most point of Fuchsia while in the southern most part of the village was a large square shaped building with the words Safari written on the front. That would be his first destination.

Ash started making his way to the Pokémon center to get his team checked on. Professor Oak also was likely going to want him to get Snor from the corral, the large beast was running him ragged with all his exercise.

The Fuchsia Pokémon Center was the same as all the others, Ash walked to the nurse joy and handed his six Pokéballs over to her.

"Hello, Nurse Joy. I need my team checked on, we've been training pretty hard on the road." Ash said politely.

"Of course, we just need to run them through this machine for a scan." Joy said while pushing the tray into a large machine.

"This is new proprietary technology, cutting edge from Silph. They're only in the eight cities with the main gyms. No longer will we need to give thorough checks on every Pokémon that comes in here." Nurse Joy said cheerily.

Ash nodded without really thinking, the company that was headed by a psychopath. The machine hummed and lit up and Ash watched as the screen next to Joy turned on and a bunch of words flew by.

"The scan shows that they only need a bit of rest and relaxation for a couple hours. Nothing more than that is needed." Joy said happily while sliding the tray back to Ash.

"Thanks."

* * *

"Welcome to the Kanto Safari Zone." an automated voice said as Ash walked into the building.

Looking around, Ash noticed that most of the entry way was empty except for the man staring at him from behind the front desk.

"We're not open yet." The man said in a dull voice.

"I was on the ship." Replied Ash while walking toward the desk, "I was told that we get a free pass into the safari zone."

The man nodded and stood up, "In these renovations many rules have changed, please follow me while I explain."

Ash followed the man though the building towards the back where he assumed the entrance to all the reserves were.

"We used to allow trainers to use their own Pokéballs, now everyone is required to use the Safari balls so we can monitor them and the Pokémon caught by trainers. Also, trainers are allowed to walk around with one of their Pokémon out of their balls, we think that it will help trainers befriend and capture Pokémon. We are also required to inform you that there are several locations that are still under construction, the volcano and Ice shelf are still locked down so you can't go there. All Pokémon are open to be caught, you are being provided twenty Safari balls if you want more you can buy them. All Pokémon caught will be transferred from a Safari ball to one of your own and you are required to return all Safari balls before you leave. Any questions?"

Ash blinked several times while listening to the man explain the rules. But none of them were that ridiculous, but that meant that he couldn't catch more than four Pokémon since that was all the regular Pokéballs he had on him, he also had the five ultra balls from the tournament but they were going to be saved.

The man handed him a pouch with the Safari balls and gestured to a stand with a map on it.

"You are allowed four hours to explore and capture whatever you can." the back doors opened and Ash walked out.

The first thing Ash noticed was that the first habitat was very similar to the Viridian forest. Tall trees standing several meters high creating a canopy that only let beams of sunlight through to light the forest area.

Ash quickly released Pidgeotto, she would be able to scout out the area for Pokémon and help him find his way. The large golden bird screamed on release and began soaring in a circle above him.

"Keep a look out for potential teammates." He told her to which she nodded and took to the sky.

Unfortunately, for the first half mile in the forest Ash hadn't found anything more than a few bug-types, not any strong ones either, only the kind he ran into in the Viridian Forest.

After awhile Ash saw the end of the forest and made his way out, the light shining through the exit was too bright to see what the next area was. Pidgeotto swooped down and out of the forest right as he did.

The next area was vastly different, a canyon like area with several rock and ground types milling about. A large Onix was chewing on boulders with several Geodude and Graveler playing and battling. The ground started to vibrate then a large crack formed in the ground several meters away before the earth exploded to reveal a huge Steelix emerge from the earth next to the Onix who butted heads with the enormous steel type as a greeting.

Ash saw that Pidgeotto was soaring around the canyon but wasn't calling him to her so he assumed that there wasn't anything that caught her eye. He may need a ground or rock type to round out his team but he wasn't going to just take anything.

Exploring further, Ash made his way toward the edge of the canyon area to try and find something else that could have potential.

A large rock was thrown from his left and nearly hit him. Ash spun around quickly to see the one responsible. A grunt sounded out and a large Machoke was pounding its chest while staring at him challengingly. Before another rock could even be picked up, Pidgeotto swooped down and hovered protectively in front of him.

"Don't attack it, we could get into trouble. Only protect me." Ordered Ash making sure that she understood the rules of this place.

Machoke, however, knew that it was at a disadvantage against Pidgeotto and smartly backed down with a noticeable frown. Ash thought for a moment, Machoke were powerful fighting types and Machamp were regarded with reverence for their abilities as the four armed Pokémon was one of the physically strongest Pokémon in the world.

"Hey!" Ash shouted to the fighting type. "How would you like to join my team? We're strong and could use a fighter like you!"

The Machoke scoffed and walked away.

Ash sighed and turned away, it wasn't like he expected the first Pokémon he saw to work out and just join his team. But he would be lying if he said that a Machoke wouldn't be a useful addition to his team.

Continuing on Ash kept looking around the area, a different assortment of grass-types running around the edges of the canyon area and the forest area that he was walking between. Pidgeotto swooped down and hovered right in front of him while cawing at him.

"Find something?" asked Ash getting another caw from his bird. "Lead on."

Ash followed Pidgeotto as she flew into the forest then landed atop a branch over looking a small stream of water and a little clearing. Ash crouch walked closer and hid behind a bush to look at the scene in front of him.

At the stream two Pokémon were talking with one another. A Gloom was looking to reassure a smaller grass type that was chewing on a small twig like a toothpick. Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon to get a better idea of what it was.

 _Treecko, the Wood Gecko Pokémon. Treecko are able to climb smooth vertical walls and use their thick tail to attack opponents. Since Treecko build their nests in large trees it is said that those trees will live a very long life._

It was a bit bigger than the average Treecko since it was nearly two feet tall, which was several inches taller than normal. The Treecko was nodding silently to the Gloom but wasn't responding, Ash didn't know what the problem was but he decided to approach the small grass-type.

Carefully and slowly, Ash stepped out from the bush alerting the two Pokémon to his presence.

"I'm not going to do anything." Ash said with both hands raised to keep them calm making sure to keep his fingers spread in the most nonthreatening manner he could. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Gloom gave a drool filled smile and gestured toward Treecko. The younger grass-type looked at him once more while chewing on its stick.

"Are you hungry? Are you hurt? Do you want to travel? Do you want to leave the Safari?" Ash asked rapid firing off questions.

Treecko nodded then shook his head then nodded vigorously. Ash reached into his bag and extended a berry toward the grass-type who snatched it from his palm and began crunching on it.

"You can come with me if you like, I'm a Pokémon trainer and I've been traveling the Kanto region for the past few months with my Pokémon. If you want to you can join my team."

Treecko didn't look convinced but began walking toward him, the small grass-type eyed the rookie trainer before spitting several seeds at him. Ash tried to lean away to avoid the attack but before the seeds could hit him a gust of wind batted them away and Pidgeotto landed between them leaning over the small grass-type imperiously.

Instead of continuing the mock battle, Treecko gave a nod to Ash. Seeing the gesture Ash hurled a Safari ball at the grass-type successfully capturing the Hoenn native. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and scanned the ball to see what level Treecko was.

 _Treecko - The wood gecko Pokémon. This Treecko is Male._

 _Known Moves - Pound, Leer, Absorb, Bullet Seed and Quick Attack. Ability - Overgrow._

Not bad, he was young so it was about as much as he was expecting. Overgrow was a popular ability among many grass-types.

"Gloooo!" the gloom said with a smile.

Ash looked at the grass type before smiling, "I'll take care of him. I promise."

Pidgeotto shot back up into the air to scout for more Pokémon while Ash smiled at finally finding a grass type for his team, he was far weaker than his other teammates but a few months of training with Hydro and Blast should bridge the gap nicely.

Leaving the forest, Ash went to where he heard streams of water and found that the next area was a rolling valley with perfect grass and a large river running though the middle of the area that several Stantler were drinking from.

Ash called out to Pidgeotto who swooped down next to him, "I'm going to give someone else some fresh air."

The large golden bird cawed as he returned her to her Pokéball and took out another, she would have a bit higher standard and may scare some smaller Pokémon but he released Umbreon anyway.

"Brreee." Yawned Umbreon after looking around the plains like environment.

Ash knelt down to rub her ears, "This is the safari zone, we already got one new teammate so let's see if we can get another."

"You can't attack anyone you can only defend me if something happens," Ash stared down at Umbreon more seriously, "You can _not_ attack anyone."

Umbreon snorted and started looking around at the variety of Pokémon around the plains. Small normal and grass types playing together, happily basking in the sun.

Ash and Umbreon looked around the plains for a while but quickly moved on to the next area, a rainy tundra. Water types galore and neither Ash nor Umbreon saw anyone he wanted to add to the team. Hydro was the best water type he could ask for and he didn't want the commitment of training another water type when Hydro was already a powerful and capable Pokémon.

Last location that he would have time for was a mountain peak that somehow resembled the top of an actual mountain. Ash didn't even bother trying to understand how such a thing was possible.

Ash heard an extremely loud roar in the distance, Ash lowered his head in resignation, and turned around to leave. He got Treeko so that was more than enough for this trip. He didn't need nor did he think he was capable of training _another_ dragon, Blast was only just getting to the point where he was a team player rather than a loner that only liked to train and sleep.

* * *

"Only one, too picky or were Pokémon against partnering up with you?" asked the man that lead him into the safari zone in the first place.

Ash narrowed his eyes at the man, "I already have a strong team so I was just looking for something that I didn't already have, and Pokémon love me. Right Umbreon."

The dark type rubbed her head on his leg in affection make Ash smile and rub behind her ears.

The man noticed the Umbreon and looked at her with wide eyes, "I'll say that you must be some trainer to be that young with a pure dark type completely under control. I saw another kid your age with a dark dragon actually, so it's not that impressive now that I think about it."

"What!? Who were they?" Ash questioned shocked, there was only one dark dragon and if Gary or Paul caught one then his rivals were going to be even harder to defeat in the Indigo League.

"I don't remember everyone that comes here but I do remember he spent nearly all of his time in the misty peaks section looking for a dragon." The man perked up suddenly, "He had purple hair, now that I think about it."

So Paul, who could potentially have a Tyranitar and Hydreigon and whatever else he had in his team was going to be a real threat by the time the Indigo league comes around and he was sure Gary had some powerful Pokémon himself.

Ash's pseudos were coming along well. He was sure that Metang would evolve before the league but Blast was a different story, it could take months of extreme training before the signs showed, he had nine solid months before the league started so he had plenty of time but he really wanted Blast to have complete control over his final form by then or it could be more of a hinderance than a boon to have him evolve.

"Thanks." Ash said as he was handed his Pokéball that contained Treeko and put into his pocket. He had just sent Pidgeotto back to Oak's to make room for Treeko who was going to need a lot of attention for the next few weeks.

"No problem, please return to the Kanto Safari Zone in two to three years when we officially open."

* * *

Ash entered a secluded part of the forest with enough room for his team and released everyone. Metang hovered near him while staring at the unopened ball in his hand, likely knowing that it was a new team member. Psychics were like that.

"Draaaa." Yawned Blast as he lazily slithered around the area.

Hydro and Pikachu looked around ready to either train or relax while Umbreon laid down at his feet ready to nap not caring about anything else.

"Okay everyone, we have a new teammate who I'd like to introduce everybody to."

His team gathered around and he released Treeko. The small wood gecko bit at his twig that hung from his lips as he nervously looked up at all the Pokémon surrounding him, he was particularly nervous to Blast and Umbreon.

"This is Treeko," he said with a smile, "He has the ambition to become strong and the want to travel as a member of this team. I hope everyone will welcome him and help him climb to your levels."

Unsurprisingly, it was Hydro that stepped forward first offering a nod and began speaking to Treeko in their language. Pikachu wasn't far behind with Metang happily watching from a comfortable distance.

Ash sat down and started looking through his Pokédex. He was going to challenge Koga tomorrow, and he wanted to be ready.

From what he had found out about Koga in his journey to Fuchsia was that his family was one of the founding members of the City and his Gym had been one of the original eight that started after the Master made his debut.

He came from a long line of poison-type trainers all fashioning themselves as shinobi. It had to have been close to a thousand years since anyone seriously considered themselves an actual ninja but he guessed that the Gym Leader's family were highly traditional and proud of their history.

Notable fact about the Fuchsia City Gym was that Koga was notorious for low number team battles. It was rare for a battle to be more than three on three unless it was at a seventh or eighth badge level and even then most fail two or three times before claiming the badge. That was with advantages heavily stacked in their favor, after all it was never a surprise as to what kind of Pokémon a gym leader had.

He would go with Blast, Hydro and Metang if it was three on three. Blast's shed skin ability meant that poison could be neutralized the first time and he had the power to take down most Pokémon at his level. Hydro was a Pokémon with high defense and offense but his mobility suffered in turn. Ash hoped that being patient would be the key for Hydro to walk away with a win. Metang was obvious since poison didn't work on steel types and psychic was highly effective, a perfect secret weapon to keep in his back pocket if he was pushed that far by the poison master.

This would mark his fifth badge and he was going to take a while to train before tackling Blaine, Sabrina and Giovanni. All three were considered to be the most powerful gym leaders in the region one being a former elite four member and the other two were either heavily considered or have turned the position down in Giovanni's case.

Giovanni was a strange case, considered stronger than all other gym leaders but rarely appeared in public forums. The last league he attended was three years ago when rumors of a trainer having the strength to take on the Elite four were going around. The guy didn't even take down two of Lorelei's Pokémon when he challenged them.

Ash wanted to have some of his team fully evolved before he went to Blaine, the fire master would hopefully fall before a Blastoise and Pidgeot, he was sure that Charmeleon would love to try his hand at the notorious Magmortar that Blaise kept in his back pocket. Speaking of Charmeleon, the pseudo dragon was getting well on his way to evolution and he was sure that Blast would be pleased by that.

Hours past and Ash relaxed into his sleeping bag feeling a little too drained to make his way to the Pokémon Center for a room despite just this morning swearing that he wasn't going to sleep in anything but a genuine bed.

Tomorrow would be a big day for him and his team, they were going to take on the poison master of Kanto.

* * *

The Fuchsia City gym was more of a modest dojo than the league official buildings he was used to with his previous gym battles.

A large open room without a league official in site. It was possible that this wasn't even the gym and he had just walked into the wrong building.

"Are you a challenger?" A disembodied voice asked him jolting him out of his thoughts.

Ash looked around and responded, "I am, I'm Ash Ketchum and I seek to challenge Koga for a soul badge."

"I see." Someone whispered from behind him.

Ash spun around and was shocked to see Koga looking down at him with crossed arms.

Koga wasn't a large man, likely only five eight, but he held a strength to him that made him seem larger than life. He was wearing a Gi with armor on his forearms and shins with a red cape like scarf. He was middle aged and his eyes held the same look that a veteran would, shown with experience and fire.

"How many badges do you have, Mr. Ketchum?"

"Four."

Koga walked to the other side of the room with a silent nod of his head. "Very well, this will be a three on three battle. I will release first, you can switch during the battle but I cannot."

No more words were said by the poison master who unclipped a pokéball and clicked the release button.

Ash didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't what emerged from the ball.

An, admittedly large, Beedrill hovered in the air in front of Koga awaiting the battle to begin.

Three on three against a gym leader who was known for his ruthlessness and was considered for an elite four position, he already knew who he was going to use so he threw he ball to get started.

Hydro stood in front of Koga with a determined look on his face and a ready stance for the coming battle. Ash smiled at his starters focus, he was so close to evolving that this very well might be the push if he won.

"Poison Spikes, Blink jab."

Ash and Hydro watched as several thin violet streams of energy cascaded onto the battlefield on his side. This was the first time that Ash would go up against someone using spikes or the move variants.

They were annoying in the best of circumstances, in the worst they could be the thing that took you out of a battle. Stealth Rock could take out a flying type on entry and poison spikes did as the name suggested, luckily Hydro was already out and Metang was immune but that didn't mean he liked the hazard being on the field.

In the second that Ash thought about the spikes Beedrill had covered the distance with its twin stingers glowing with energy and the tips dripping with poison.

"Withdrawl!" Shouted Ash, "Respond with Scald!"

Hydro, with his battle experience was able to avoid one of the jabs, the second one managed to hit his arm before he was safely inside of his shell.

Hours of training prepared Hydro for this moment. Inside of his shell movement was difficult, unless he utilized the rapid spin movement Ash had dubbed 're-position'.

Beedrill moved back from the Hydro who span in his shell rapidly and with the spin he rolled away from the poison-bug type. Three meters of movement later Hydro emerged from his shell and released a boiling stream of water toward Beedrill who calmly avoid the attack and spat several globs of poison that Hydro avoided them easily.

Ash frowned and called for a change in tactics. Hydro used Iron Defense while Koga made a few calls that Ash didn't recognize, likely alternate names for moves so that Ash couldn't counter them before they struck.

With higher defense, Hydro waited for Beedrill to approach with the icy energy gathering in his chest.

Unfortunately, Beedrill continued to attack from range using a combination of sludge bomb, Venoshock and Pin Missile. Hydro continued to dodge but was getting slower with each movement.

Hydro gathered an orb of icy blue energy in front of his mouth and fired a jagged stream of energy at the Beedrill who scrambled out of the way of the high speed Ice Beam. Hydro kept up the assault with several more Ice Beams, none hitting directly but one managing to hit Beedrill's arm freezing it on contact.

After gathering more icy energy Hydro started to shake making Ash worry.

"Hydro!" Called Ash realizing what was wrong.

Before he could recall Hydro he fell face first into the ground. Ash quickly recalled his starter and clenched his fist. He realized too late what was happening, Koga only landed one attack, but it was all that he needed.

Poison types were peculiar in their training. Once a poison move was learned it couldn't be improved upon in the same way a flamethrower or a thunderbolt could in that practice would make it stronger. Rather it was through diet and experimentation that a poison type increased the lethality of their poison, thus increasing their attacks effectiveness.

That was also why Koga was such a difficult opponent. Ash never thought exactly why this was such a challenging gym. Poison types weren't flashy like Fire or Electric types they were subtle, stalling battlers. It was all tactics and efficiency in their battle styles. Koga, being an Elite level trainer, even a Beedrill would be a force to be reckoned with, as he just saw.

"I made a mistake, Koga." Ash said getting a raised brow from the modern ninja, "In my studies I learned why your specialty was so dangerous but in my time as a trainer I had forgotten. Even a poison jab is terrifying from you."

Ash never out right praised an opponent before and never during a battle but he just felt the words leave his mouth.

Koga, for the first time since Ash entered the gym changed his facial expression. He let out a tiny smirk, "I see you aren't as foolish as I thought, it only took you loosing one Pokémon rather than the whole battle like most."

Ash nodded and took out the ball for his fiercest Pokémon.

Blast emerged from his ball with a low roar from his throat. The long blue serpent of legend locked eyes with his opponent while his tail lazily floated behind him.

Koga and Beedrill remained unfazed in the presence of his Dragonair.

"Agility into Flamethrower don't let it touch you!" Called Ash seriously.

Blast glided through the air at high speeds with red fiery energy coiled in front of his mouth before it exploded in a cone of fire that Beedrill avoided and responded to with a Pin Missile. The flying needles were avoided and Blast kept up his assault not wanting to give the bug a second to breath.

"Coat!" Ordered Koga with a more pronounce frown on his face.

Ash didn't know what coat could mean, Beedrill couldn't learn mirror coat so it must be more of the custom moves that Koga made.

"Blast! Dragon Rage!"

Blast, grinned viscously at the order, despite not being the most powerful attack at base, Dragon Rage was his best attack and he can use it to an incredible level. It was this move that earned him his name sake when he first met his trainer.

Draconic energy coalesced in Blast's mouth then was released as a compact ball of power that Beedrill predictively avoided. However, Blast's mastery of Dragon Rage allowed him to fire off another almost instantly, hitting the bug in the chest knocking it out of the fight.

A natural move from a dragon was devastating, especially when it was mastered to the degree that Blast had mastered Dragon Rage. Ash would have been surprised if the Beedrill would have shook the hit off.

"A win to you Mr. Ketchum." Nodded Koga for releasing another Pokémon.

Muk emerged from its ball and swayed back and forth on the ground in a congealed blob of poisons. The Muk was similar to the one in possession of the Rocket executive in that it was large and gave off a putrid smell.

"Thunderbolt! Follow up with Flamethrower!"

Blast slithered through the arena room so he could get into a better position as the top of his head crackled with yellow lightning. Muk stood firm in its place and watched lazily as the lightning bolt crossed the distance between them.

Ash didn't know what to make of Muk's lack of reaction but watched as Blast's Thunderbolt was shrugged off. Blast charged up a Flamethrower with Muk having the same reaction except for its slight tightening of its body.

The wave of fire crossed the distance between Pokémon with the room heating from the extremely hot fire. Muk spat out a thick stream of poison from its mouth that managed to stop the fire in its tracks and cancel out the attack.

"Blast use-" Before Ash could finish Blast fell forward unconscious. "What?!" He shouted unable to hold in his shock.

"That is my win Mr Ketchum, your last Pokémon please." Said Koga, his expression unreadable.

Ash looked at Blast's ball silently, this was the first time his dragon tasted defeat so casually. On the S.S. Anne the battle against Salamance was tough but it was against a Pokémon with a vast amount of power and experience and even then Blast fought his heart out. This time he was defeated without even realizing it, and Ash felt he was the sole person to blame.

"This is it, go Metang!" Shouted Ash tossing his steel-psychic type out.

The metallic roar from Metang sounded out as the large Pokémon hovered motionlessly in the air. Ash felt a wave of focus wash over him as he felt Metang's seriousness towards the battle due to Metang's psychic link.

"A steel type, how typical." Muttered Koga to his type specialties worst matchup. Troublingly, the poison master didn't seem upset at the turn of event rather unimpressed.

"Metang, Confusion into Meteor Mash!"

"Dark Pulse into Flamethrower."

Despite Ash's worry over the moves being called out he continued to keep his confidence in Metang's abilities.

The red eyes of the Hoenn native glowed as Muk felt its body destabilize from the effective psychic attack the momentarily stalled the charging of the dark attack. Metang used the moment to burst forward with speeds usually only attainable by agility. The two arms raised in front and gave off a silver glow as Metang rocketed forward like a meteor toward the poison type.

Muk's dark pulse fizzled out and the poison type was hit my the steel attack getting a small grunt of discomfort but otherwise seemed fine. Metang however was finding the congealed mass of poison difficult to escape.

An extremely tight orb of fire condensed into Muk's mouth, as Blast's attack before it did, the room heated up from the fire attack being used. Metang took the flamethrower into the body dealing enough damage for a cry of pain.

"Psychic! Then Zen Headbutt!" Cried Ash hoping to turn the battle around.

Muk slid away from the psychic type but Metang's Psychic caught it and picked the blob off the ground and slammed it back onto the ground.

As soon as Muk hit the ground a cold ball of black energy condensed in front of Muk's mouth and shot toward Metang at blistering speeds. Metang avoid the attack with an application of Agility to close the distance between the two Pokémon. The front of Metang's face glowed with pink energy and Muk started to hum with golden energy.

" _Finish it_." Said Koga with a point of his hand.

Muk, with golden energy surrounding it the hum became more prominent. The energy crackled to life as the blob of toxins exploded forward with the ground cracking under the force of the movement. Muk now surrounded by crackling golden energy became a comet of energy as Metang closed in with a Zen Headbutt.

Ash let out a sigh when he realized what Muk was using.

The golden crackling energy exploded out of his body and the crackling energy became a powerful aura that surrounded Muk causing the room to hum with power. Metang, using Zen Headbutt, collided with Muk and for an instant the clash looked to be even.

Ash sighed, it was his loss. Zen Headbutt couldn't stand up to _Giga Impact_.

Metang cried out in pain and fell to the ground in defeat.

Ash recalled Metang with a tired sigh. He was hoping for the win but it would seem that even an incredible advantage such as Steel and Psychic typing wouldn't matter at the higher levels.

Koga walked over to the introspective trainer. "You put up an… interesting fight. You were hoping to overpower my Pokémon, correct?"

"I was." Nodded Ash, seeing the folly in the plan.

"That is a mind set that most rookie trainers and even experienced trainer think. I blame the dragon tamer for the mindset of power equalling strength." Sighed Koga.

Ash wondered about that. Koga was considered a very strong trainer, easily elite level but his Pokémon weren't inherently powerful. It would seem that he had in fact been thinking along the power mindset.

"A battle is not about power." Koga said seriously, "I make it a point to defeat trainers like you with subtle attacks and finesse to try and impart the knowledge that power isn't the only avenue to battling. If you walk in thinking that a Hyper Beam is going to win you the battle because it is such a powerful move then my Beedrill will simply dodge and defeat you with a simple poison jab."

Ash looked down in thought, his battle in hindsight made it seem like he was a raging Taurus being lead by the nose by a matador without knowing. He expected Hydro to overpower the Beedrill, the same with Blast but he lost without even knowing it.

"I will battle you again anytime after a minimum of three days, Mr Ketchum." Koga didn't say anything more and walked off.

* * *

After a trip to the Pokémon center and a large lunch later and Ash was sitting in front of his team in a small clearing outside of the city.

"We lost today." Said Ash.

The assortment of Pokémon cried out in either sadness or shock. Blast was notably silent in the cry of responses. Ash knew that he was taking it the hardest.

"And it's my fault," some shouted to interrupt him but he raised a hand to quiet them. "I have only been focusing on one part of the essential training I needed to be giving you. I have been in the mindset that power would win us the battle, and in a lot of cases it will but not all of them. I think for the next couple of weeks, we're going to focus on control and bettering your physical capabilities rather than increasing the amount of power you can harness. You're all powerful, now we need to make sure that you have excellent control over all of your abilities, changing existing moves that you haven't used in awhile to something different or altering you signatures to make them more versatile."

Ash smiled at all of them and held up a fist, "We have three days!" Cried Ash, "Let's do this!"

None of his Pokémon held back a roar of approval.

Ash didn't like how he'd been training now that he thought back on it. In the beginning he had came up with some awesome combinations, Blitz Tail, and Thunder Gavel to name a few. Where had that innovation gone?

Had he simply tossed that aside with Blast's evolution and Charmeleon's abilities showing such potential for raw power. Snor's power was inherently high and he never worked on control rather increasing the power of the moves. Hydro was naturally defensive so it worked out and despite his foolishness Metang was the most balanced of all of his Pokémon.

Pikachu had excellent speed and power, could adapt to different Pokémon's fighting styles and was a natural battler. But what had Ash done with that? Nothing, thunder gavel was the first of many potential unique utilizations but Ash shifted his focus to the more 'powerful' Pokémon.

Luckily he hadn't ruined Treeko's abilities with poor training yet. The little grass type was showing an affinity for speed fighting, preferring to move in and hit for damage and move out in a flash. He would team his grass type up with Pikachu and Pidgeotto in training to help with that.

Snor was still at the corral and he would call him back after the gym battle along with Charmeleon to help give the Fire type the last push toward evolution. Oak had sent him an update the other night that his hide was hardening and his color was lightening. Meaning that evolution was imminent and Oak didn't want him to evolve away from his trainer as Charizard's were as prideful as dragons and would be insulted if their trainer wasn't even there during their evolution.

Ash was actually surprised that so many of his Pokémon were close to evolution. Pidgeotto could evolve any day even without battling, Hydro was on the cusp like Charmeleon and he was sure that Metang was close considering the near mastery of Meteor Mash.

Day two of his training and he was witnessing a battle between Hydro and Umbreon.

Hydro was on the offense, he was focusing on combining Water Pulse and Scald to make a cannon of boiling water. Umbreon was trying to hit a Toxic attack by infusing the poison into a bite attack.

Both attacks were potentially catastrophic, a high speed burn inducing Water cannon and a bite attack that inflicted Toxic.

The water energy was gathering in front of Hydro's mouth and was giving off a high amount of steam making his face from Umbreon. The water compacted and shot forward in a bowling ball sized orb that was losing its size from the steam constantly emanating from the attack.

Ash frowned at that, Scald was a compact stream of water because of the steam he would either need to increase the water in the attack or decrease the heat.

Umbreon jumped away from the attack and started closing distance with her fangs bared with noticeable poison dripping from her mandibles. Ash smiled at his dark type, this wasn't a difficult attack to master but the problem was the amount of time to prepare the attack.

Hydro continued to gather energy all the while backpedaling away from the dark type who was trying to poison him. Steam gathered in front of Hydro's face as he prepared another attack while Umbreon got into Hydro's face.

The dark type managed to close the distance faster than Hydro could attack. Hydro cried out in pain from the bite and Ash could see the purple tint around the bite mark showing that the poison was injected. Hydro was now on a clock.

"Scald into Water Pulse!"

"Umbreon, meet it with Dark Pulse then Iron Tail the Water Pulse!"

Ash was trying to come up with different strategies for different situation where dodge just wouldn't work. He was hoping to make several options reflexive for his Pokémon through this training.

Hydro could fire off Water Pulse quite fast making it a great follow up move and the same with Umbreon's Iron Tail.

The Scald managed to cancel out the Dark Pulse attack despite the dark attack being inherently stronger. Hydro was the stronger Pokémon raw power wise giving him the upper hand in the clash.

Umbreon jumped and spun around hitting the condensed ball of water destabilizing the ball making it splash harmlessly.

"Excellent! Take a break you two!" Both Pokémon cried out happily while Ash went to cure Hydro's poisoning.

Hydro had increased the speed in which he utilized attacks and has made some headway into a new attack. Ash was quite pleased with his starters progress. Umbreon was going along like expected, soon she would get to a point where she couldn't keep up with power naturally and would need to really put in training to keep up.

Ash had looked at footage of Agatha's Umbreon and was surprised at the Pokémon's power. A dark pulse from the elite's Pokémon could meet a Hyper Beam head on and get a stalemate. Ash didn't know what kind of training Umbreon would need to get to that point but he had a few ideas for training once he got his last badge.

For now he'd work on Blast and Pidgeotto and their attacks control and accuracy.

* * *

"I didn't think I would hear from you Ash!" Came the voice of Professor Oak from the video call.

Ash sighed, "The journey from Celadon was a long one and not much happened. I called to ask your advice on some things."

"I will do my best to help." Said Oak with a smile.

"I lost to Koga-" Oak looked to interrupt but Ash shook his head, "That wasn't the problem, it was the battle that raised some problems with my training. I realized that I have only been focusing on power and not much else since I got my second badge."

"I see." Nodded Oak.

"I was wondering what kind of training I could put my team through to help further their control, I can't just have them practicing moves over and over and I'm running out of ideas for combination attacks."

Professor Oak smiled and let out a sigh, "You came to that conclusion far more calmly than Gary did. He called me after getting whipped by Koga in a rage and yelled for ten minutes all amounting to what you just said."

"Although he called mostly to vent and then hung up before I could say anything." Snorted Oak with a shake of his head that was mirrored by Ash.

"You have a team of remarkably powerful Pokémon, that is a fact and to a point you were training them exactly how you were supposed to. Before a Pokémon is fully evolved they need to train to increase their power so that they can reach their final forms. Once a Pokémon reaches their final evolution then you can fully focus on control as they will be at a point where their move pools are fully available to be taught and trained."

"So for now, you haven't been completely failing in training." Conceded Oak with a small smile, "But, you can't only focus on how powerful a move is, even at your stage. I would recommend increasing your Pokémon's defenses and resistances to their weaknesses. While some of your Pokémon will evolve to stronger forms, evolution increases your Pokémon's stats rather than changing them so the stronger you Pokémon are when they evolve the more they'll benefit from the evolution."

"So I should train resistances and weaknesses not just moves. Understood, thank you for the help Professor. Also I'm going to be sending you Treeko and Pikachu for Snor and Charmeleon."

"Very well Ash, good luck against Koga."

* * *

Ash grimaced at Hydro and Charmeleon's battle. This was for Charmeleon to start building a resistance to one of his biggest weaknesses and for Hydro to learn increase the speed and control of Water Pulse.

A Flamethrower burst through the training field while a powerful cannon ball of water canceled out the attack. Hydro wasted no time in firing another Water Pulse off getting a direct hit on Charmeleon cried out angrily. The fire type entered Blaze and sent another noticeably hotter and larger Flamethrower at the water type.

Hydro saw the power of the attack coming and raised an impenetrable barrier of protect in front of him. The fire washed over the barrier but nothing came of the attack. Charmeleon roared once more and Ash knew that he was getting close, Hydro as well.

"Both of you use Fire Punch, and Ice Punch!"

Hydro's fist was covered in frost and the ivory sub zero energy of an Ice type while Charmeleon ignited his own fist causing extremely hot fire to form an orb around his fist.

Hydro crossed the distance quite quickly with Charmeleon meeting him in the middle. Both attacks met and a wave of power was given off from the clash. The ground immediately under them changed, on Charmeleon's half it caught fire while it froze on Hydro's side. The clash looked even for a moment before Charmeleon's natural move enhanced by blaze won out.

Hydro crashed onto his back in defeat. Ash was about to recall him but two roars came from the Pokémon, Hydro's was a bit deeper than he'd ever heard while Charmeleon's was much louder than normal. Ash's other Pokémon all stopped to see what was happening.

Hydro was surrounded by the white energy of evolution. Ash watched in pride as his started evolved. The frozen ground under him shattered under his rapidly growing weight while the light grew brighter and large after each passing second.

The deeper than normal roar became even deeper during the process. Ash reached for his Pokédex and waited until the process was finished. The process for evolution, in Ash's experience, hadn't ever taken this long. Maybe it was because this was a final evolution?

Almost three minutes after the light appeared over Wartortle they dimmed and receded from Blastoise.

A large blue turtle with twin cannons protruding from his shell stood in the place of his Wartortle. Hydro was now a bit taller than Ash coming in at just under two meters while his width was enough that Ash likely could even wrap his arms around half of him.

"Blaaaa!" Roared Hydro for the first time in his final form.

Charmeleon's roar of victory earlier wasn't just for show as just as soon as he noticed Hydro's new form he exploded into a blinding white light. Louder and stronger were his cries as the light grew larger and brighter.

Ash couldn't contain his jubilation that two of his Pokémon evolving at the same time. He supposed this spoke to the amount of training Charmeleon and Blast put in at the corral with Oak's incredible Dragonite and his own battle crazy work ethic. Hydro wasn't lazy but he didn't spend every moment he could training like Charmeleon who wanted to challenge Oak's Charizard.

The light started to die down but the heat didn't, the first thing Ash saw was the large tail flame which grew to show the rest of the Fire and now Flying type's body. Charizard was now just at the two meter mark coming in a bit above Blastoise's head with a large wind span behind him and two large arms that looked far stronger than before.

Charizard and Hydro looked at one another for a moment before silently nodding to one another.

Ash watched silently at the mutual respect being shown but felt pride in his two Pokémon.

Blast was the one who broke the silence in the field by flying over to Charizard with a low horn like roar. The dragon and now pseudo dragon talked to each other with Blast hovering around Charizard taking in his new form.

Hydro stomped over to him and slapped him on the back, Ash grunted but smiled over at his starter.

"I'm proud of you Hydro, I still remember the small Squirtle I got from Professor Oak." Said Ash with a huge smile on his face.

Snor and Metang came over to Ash with Umbreon going to Charizard and Blast to look at the new and improved fire type.

"Metang, once you master Meteor Mash you will be able to reach your final stage." A wave of excitement washed over him making him smile, "I will be using you in the gym again, so be ready for that."

Metang flew off and Snor plopped down next to his trainer with a roar of hunger. Ash rolled his eyes and tossed one of his food pellets into Snor's waiting mouth who chewed on it happily.

"I will be using you in the battle tomorrow too Snor, so rest up."

Snor didn't complain at the order and instantly fell asleep to prepare.

Charizard started flapping his wings and took to the air with Blast following behind smoothly. Umbreon looked up at the dragons then ran over and curled up next to Snor to take some nap time.

Ash smiled to himself, this was the point of his journey where his team should start to get to their final stages. Except for Metang and Blast, the former's evolution was dictated by a mental state not considered ready to evolve until they mastered Meteor Mash with the latter needed a long while to accumulate the experience and power to trigger the change.

Snor, Umbreon, and Treeko weren't going to evolve either as Snor doesn't have another form, Umbreon already is in her last form and Treeko was still young. Ash looked down at his egg, it was a solid slate grey with portions of it turning a slight silver almost unnoticeable from the grey. He was unsure of what it would be but he was sure that it was a rock or steel type, a heavily defensive type that would help his team.

He knew that he would have been able to re-challenge Koga after three days but with Hydro and Charmeleon's evolution he was going to take a few days for them to get used to their bodies.

* * *

A week, it was one week ago today that Ash was last in the Fuchsia City Pokémon Gym. He was ready and his team was ready. This time he wasn't going to worry about overpowering Koga, sometimes a scalpel was more important than a hammer.

The gym was as barren as the last time. The front was occupied by a young women in her late teens who smiled at him as he walked in.

"Hello! Welcome to the Fuchsia City gym! How may I help you?" She asked pleasantly.

Ash smiled at her, "I am here to re-challenge Koga."

She actually looked surprised to hear that, "Wow, most don't come back to challenge my father after they lose. I'm impressed mister."

"Ash Ketchum."

She smiled at him, "Janine."

She was lead to the gym arena where she was then taken to the ground in a judo move with her father holding one of her arms behind her and a foot on her back.

Ash looked on with wide shocked eyes. He'd heard that they still practiced martial arts for traditions sake, but he didn't think it would go this far.

"You must remain aware of your surroundings at all time, a trainer easily caught off guard is a trainer that looses." Said Koga with the same low voice that wasn't loud but still reached the corners of the room.

Janine was let up and she stood with a sheepish look, "Sorry father, I won't let it happen again."

"We will train more later." Said Koga with a nod.

The poison master finally noticed Ash and got an interested look in his eye, "I see you are back for another challenge."

Ash nodded, "You taught me something important last time, I'll be sure to use it to win today." He said seriously.

Koga nodded, "Very well, as this is a rematch there are different rules. You may still switch Pokémon mid-battle but now so can I, also this will be a four on four rather than three on three. I will pick first."

From the gym leaders side a familiar putrid smelling pile of sludge was revealed. Muk slid around on his side of the field with a lazy expression on its face but still ready to battle.

Ash thought for a moment, Muk had some of the most deadly poisons naturally and he was sure that Koga had ways of making it worse. With that in mind he was going to use a Pokémon that wouldn't be too bothered by toxins.

Snor landed on the field with a thunderous thud shaking the arena under his enormous weight.

"A powerful Pokémon, you continue to impress me Ketchum." Koga said with the same interested look back in his eye.

Janine walked to the middle and raised both of here arms, "This will be a four on four rematch! Both sides may switch out their Pokémon, forfeiting is permitted. Begin!"

"Sludge Bomb!"

"Earthquake then Thunder Punch!"

Muk was normally the faster of the two Pokémon in the wild, however both Pokémon were naturally pretty slow. Ash however had taken a rather unorthodox approach to training a Snorlax, he wasn't fast in the slightest but compared to a Pokémon that was slow but normally faster than him he had the edge.

Before the Sludge could be fired from the pile of purple toxins the arena was violently shook thanks to Snor stomping with all his might firing off an earthquake. Muk groaned out in pain while Snor rushed Muk with his right fist crackling with yellow lightning.

Koga and Janine watched as Snor charged forward with speed unheard of for a Pokémon of that size. Janine couldn't keep the bewildered look off of her face while Koga bounced back in an instant.

"Sludge wave then Purple Haze!"

Muk bounced back as soon as it heard its masters voice and released a wave of poison in all directions landing a solid hit on the approaching Snorlax who moments later landed a Thunder Punch on the poison type.

The move wasn't super effective as Muk's defensives were impressive but he took on a slightly frazzled expression getting a grin from Ash. He was betting on a Paralyze with the Thunder Punch.

"Finish this with Hyper Beam!" Shouted Ash throwing forth a punch into the air.

"Get it off, Purple Haze!" Roared Koga.

Both Snor and Muk were hard at work preparing their moves. Snor had the orange energy collecting in front of his mouth as the room filled with tension as the incredibly powerful attack was being prepared. The sound of the Hyper Beam charged started as a feint hum and worked up to a loud buzz as if a dozen Beedrill were in the room.

Muk managed to attack first releasing a purple smoke bomb that covered the arena in dark purple smoke.

An instant later Snor fired the canon lighting the room with an orange light that was too bright to stare at.

Muk was overtaken by the attack as it traveled far too fast for the pile of sludge to move away from. The attack only last a second but the damage was done. Thankfully the attack hit Muk dead center as the arena only had dark burns on the hard floor and slight cracks.

"Muk is unable to battle!"

Koga nodded, "I see you are more prepared this go around, let's see how you handle this!"

The same Beedrill that took out Hydro was released onto the field and hovered in the air ready for battle.

Ash smirked, "Return Snor." The large normal type was sucked back into his ball as Ash reached for his next Pokémon. "Koga, this was one of the reasons this re-challenge took so long."

Ash tossed out Hydro's ball releasing the large water type who let out a low call and stomped on the ground a few times to show his strength.

"I see," said Koga, "That Wartortle of yours did look close to evolution. I fear you may be underestimating the amount of time it takes for a Pokémon to acclimate to their final forms."

Ash just held his smirk, "I wouldn't worry too much."

"Very well, Poison Sting! Then Acid Missile!"

"Protect then Skull Bash! Ice beam then Brick Break!" Called Ash knowing that Hydro could take the list of commands without trouble.

Beedrill swooped in to attack with poison dripping from its stingers. As soon as the attack was about to land the invisible wall of energy formed in front of Hydro protecting him from any and all damage from the attack, the wall fizzled out the instant the attack ended.

Beedrill recoiled off of the wall and tried to fly away to gain distance but was nailed center mass by Hydro's large skull with tremendous force. The bug and poison type let out a cry of pain before Hydro launched two beams of ivory sub-zero energy that hit both of Beedrill stingers.

Not a second to wast, Hydro jumped forward with his right arm glowing with energy. Despite not being a super effective attack the brick break hit with enough for that Beedrill was sent to the ground unconscious.

Koga cracked a smiled at the turn of events, "I'm impressed, you aren't just attacking first and hoping for the best you seem to have a strategy in mind this time around. Now, this will give you trouble."

A large Weezing was released onto the field. Its two heads both showing a sad or lame expression on their faces. Ash would be honest in that he didn't know much about the Pokémon other than the basics, like it was immune to ground attacks thanks to levitation and that it was a pure poison type.

"Hydro start off with Scald!"

"Cover then Belch!"

Hydro's twin cannons shot two beams of boiling water that Weezing lazily floated out to of the way of and continued to barely dodge the barrage of water as its mouth filled with gases.

Before Hydro could land an attack Weezing's mouths let out a very thick and dark cloud of poison that covered the arena. Hydro was immediately lost from sight as the smog over took him, Ash cried out in worry and called for him to keep going.

Ash knew that this meant that Hydro was most certainly poisoned and would be on a very short timer until he passed out. He would have called for Hydro if he didn't hear a deep roar like sound that was followed by a crash. Ash didn't know what happened until the smog cleared and he saw Hydro played out and unconscious.

Taking a breath Ash recalled his started and sent a few words of thanks to him. Ash threw out Snor's ball one more time. The large Pokémon landed in a loud crash as it stared over at the floating poison type across from him ready to battle.

"Yawn! Follow up with Fire Punch!"

"Cover! Follow up with Sludge Bomb!"

Snor immediately Yawned in the direction of Weezing who watched with his lazy gaze. The poison type reciprocated the yawn before starting to build up poison to release another cloud of gas.

After the Yawn Snor charged in with the same impressive speed with his right arm ignited with fire. Snor closed in the same time the gas was released causing a clash with Snor knocking away the Weezing making it crash into the ground, however the gas was still released and Snor was overtaken by the attack.

"Snor! Use Body Slam!"

Ash was betting on a theory of his, he was hoping that Snor's large body and large amount of movement would blow away the cloud before it took too much out of him. Ash was also banking on Snor's incredible endurance and constitution to withstand the onslaught of poison.

Weezing, still on the ground was incapable of dodging was hit by the incredibly heavy Pokémon's attack.

When the smog cleared both Pokémon were on the ground, one unconscious while the other was awake but tired.

"Weezing is unable to battle, Snorlax is the winner!"

Koga recalled his downed Pokémon silently and immediately released his last Pokémon. A small but fast Pokémon was released into the arena, it had four wings and a frown on it's face. This was the first Crobat that Ash had ever battled and he was eager to beat it.

Knowing that it wouldn't take much for Snor to go down he recalled his large normal type and reach for his third Pokémon already knowing who he was going to use.

An extremely loud roar sounded out as soon as Blast took to the field. The dragon glared at his opponent with a scowl on his face as he hoped to avenge his loss last week.

"He had been training non stop for this match." Said Ash with a smile.

"I can see that he isn't pleased with the last battle's outcome. I will warn you, this will not be an easy win." Koga said with a stone faced expression.

Crobat's wings were flapping so fast that Ash's eyes could see more than a blur and Blast was merely waiting for his order so he could take down this flying rat.

Crobat blurred into action as Ash and Koga called out attacks for their respective Pokémon to carry out.

Crobat came in first with a wing attack that wasn't strong enough to get more than a tilt of Blast's head. Blast reared back and roared as he manipulated his draconic energy to create a spinning vortex of energy to lock Crobat in a Twister.

The flying and poison type was hit but it left the immediate area in a blur, escaping most of the damage from the attack. Blast charged the golden draconic energy in his mouth to ready his signature attack.

Crobat wasn't idle as it swung all four of its wings in an X like formation that sent a dark purple energy attack that hit Blast's chest. Thankfully the Cross Poison didn't poison Blast as his favorite dragon fired off his signature attack.

The extremely fast poison type avoided the first two Dragon Rages but was clipped by the third making it cry out in pain. The Crobat blurred around the arena as it started to pick up sped with energy starting to come off of it in droves.

Recognizing the maneuver Ash knew that he was going to be able to end the match if he timed his next move right.

"Blast, ready Ice Beam fire when it gets close." Said Ash trying to make sure that Koga didn't over hear it.

Crobat having picked up enough speed let the energy building around it exploded into a cloak of power. The Brave Bird attack even further increased Crobat's speed and the powerful flying type attack was one that could case massive damage to any type of Pokémon barring large Rock types.

Blast let the ivory sub-zero energy gather in his mouth as he was building more and more of the ice type energy as he waited for his perfect moment. Both Ash and Blast knew that they had Pidgeotto to thank for their ability to even keep up with Crobat's attack. If Ash were to guess he would say that Pidgeotto was only a bit slower than Crobat while using Brave Bird.

Crobat got in close enough that Blast was a confident in his ability to land the attack and fired the compact beam of energy that hit Crobat center mass with the super effective attack but the Brave Bird attack was too strong and the attack landed hitting Blast in the chest knocking him onto his back.

"Poison Fang!"

Blast managed to get back up but as soon as he could only in time to see Crobat's open mouth chomp down on his neck injecting venom into him inflicting him with toxins. Blast roared out in anger and threw off the poison type causing it to hit the ground hard before it took back off into the air.

"Blast Agility, Thunderbolt then Ice Beam, keep it up until its out!"

Blast's body glowed with psychic energy increasing the dragons speed. Crobat came forward to attack with another cross poison but Blast was fast enough to dodge the attack. Blast's horn crackled with yellow lightning that fired off as soon as it appeared.

Crobat was fast enough to avoid being hit center mass but its wing was clipped by the attack. As soon as the attack grazed Crobat's side a follow up attack hit Crobat dead center. The super effective ice type attack was the attack that did it as Crobat fell to the ground defeated.

"Crobat is unable to battle, Dragonair is the winner. With no Pokémon left, Ash is the winner!" Called Janine with her arm raised in Ash's direction.

Ash sighed out happily as he recalled Blast into his ball hoping to spare him too much time poisoned.

Koga walked over to Ash with a small smile on his face. "I must say I'm impressed with your growth, these past few days. Not only did you take your loss and learn from it but you were already a talented trainer. I believe you have more than earn this Soul Badge. Good luck on your journeys, Ash Ketchum."

Without another word Koga disappeared from the arena. Janine offered her congratulations before returning to the front desk to make sure someone was there to greet challengers.

Ash let out a breath, he was done, he managed to beat Koga a Gym leader that marked Ash's beginning to enter a tough league of opponents like Blaine, Sabrina, and Giovanni all of whom were as strong as Koga.

He knew that he would need to work extra hard to prepare himself for the upcoming battles. He actually had a few ideas for that.

But before all that he needed to go to the Pokémon center, and after that Blaine awaited him.

* * *

 **That is it! I did it! I finished this god damn chapter!**

 **I want all of you to give me a solid twenty minute round of applause because damn was this was a pain, just finding time to work on this when my muse was on other things. Sorry for the wait.**

 **Here is the line up for those who are curious.**

Ash's Team and Move sets.

Trainer I.D - 438297

TM's on hand: Fire Blast, Blizzard, Focus Blast, Hyper Beam, Thunder, Teleport, Thunderbolt. All one use.

 **Hydro/ Blastoise** :

Move Set: Tail Whip, Tackle, Water Gun, Rapid Spin, Withdraw, Water Pulse, Scald, Ice Beam, Brick Break, Protect, Iron Defense, Ice Punch, Skull Bash, Hydro Pump.

 **Pidgeotto** :

Move Set: Sand Attack, Peck, Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Gust, Steel Wing, Roost, Brave Bird, Aerial Ace, Twister.

 **Umbreon** :

Move Set: Leer, Tackle, Quick Attack, Agility, Iron Tail, Moonlight, Confusion, Dark Pulse, Bite, Thunder Fang, Dig, Toxic, Confuse Ray.

Combo Moves: Blitz Tail: Combo of Agility, Quick Attack and Iron Tail.

 **Blast** / **Dragonair** :

Move Set: Leer, Wrap, Thunderwave, Twister, Dragon Rage, Agility, Iron Tail, Aqua Tail, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Dragon Rush.

 **Metang** :

Move Set: Take Down, Confusion, Metal Claw, Psychic, Psyshock, Flash Cannon, Earthquake, Meteor Mash (not mastered), Zen Headbutt, Rock Slide.

 **Pikachu** :

Move Set: Tail Whip, Thundershock, Thunderwave, Growl, Quick Attack, Agility, Iron Tail, Electro Ball, Thunderbolt.

Combo Moves: Blitz Tail

Special Moves: Thunder Gavel: Charging a Thunderbolt into Pikachu's body at the same time as Iron Tail, then releasing the electrical energy at the exact moment the steel type attack strikes for a powerful hammer strike.

 **Charizard** :

Move Set: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage, Flamethrower, Metal Claw, Dragon Claw, Fire Punch, Twister, Wind Attackonon.

 **Snor/Snorlax:**

Move Set: Defense Curl, Yawn, Rest, Body Slam, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Thunder Punch, Shadow Ball, Earthquake.

 **Treecko:**

Moves Set: Pound, Leer, Absorb, Bullet Seed and Quick Attack.

Ability: Overgrow.


End file.
